Love by the Books
by FriedBananas88
Summary: Graduate student Arizona Robbins crushes hard on the brunette barista at the campus cafe. It all started with two free smoothies... A Calzona fic. Inspired by the original Love by the Books by Ruby Grandin (2013)
1. Chapter 1

"Response papers on the importance of having a library disaster plan are due next Wednesday. Have a good week people, and please check the new readings online which should be up later today."

Arizona Robbins closed her new spiral-bound notebook and started putting away her things. She'd been worried about being the older student in her graduate classes, but it seemed that Library Science attracted all kinds of students at all kinds of stages in life. She took comfort in the fact that her fellow students had different backgrounds and experiences.

Owen, one of the other students, had just gotten out of the Air Force after several combat tours overseas, including Iraq and Afghanistan; Miranda had come right out of a history bachelor's degree with a minor in ASL. Those were just two examples. It was one of the most non-traditional batch of classmates Arizona had ever had the good fortune to learn alongside. After spending ten years in a soul-crushing corporate job, Arizona was excited, and, to be honest, a little nervous about going back to school.

She'd sacrificed enough of her life to running the marketing department of a global consumer goods company; she'd been beyond ready or a change two years ago, but lacked the gumption to quit her respectable, salaried – albeit incredibly stressful – job, and go back to school full time. Sure, it was going to drain her savings, and she'd had to trade her two-bedroom condo for a studio apartment instead, but it was worth it. She felt more and more certain about her decision every day.

Arizona was thirty-five years old, and she was ready to start doing what she loved – which seemed to be a part-time work study internship with the university library. Blonde, blue-eyed, and bubbly with an infectious laugh, Arizona lived alone, which was fine by her especially given her current living quarters. "Oh honey, you could just move back in with your pops and I and go to university here," her mother had exclaimed when she had made her announcement about having enrolled in her graduate course and needing to find a smaller apartment within walking distance of campus in order to make more savings. But of course she declined. She'd become very used to having her own space, and besides, it would be tricky indeed living under her parents' roof, given her propensity for one night stands with the ladies in recent years.

Oh yeah. Arizona was thirty-five years old, blonde, blue-eyed, and bubbly with an infectious laugh. Arizona also loved the ladies. Deep down, Arizona had always known that she preferred girls over boys – she certainly didn't put up a poster of Cindy Crawford by her bed to admire her mole. Sure, she'd tried going out with boys, the first one being her brother Tim's best friend Nick, but after several dates she just didn't feel for the boys what she felt for girls. Though, to give the boys credit, they were nice, and gentlemanly, and funny, and respectful – maybe they were just intimidated by her dad, The Colonel, but, the problem remained. Arizona just didn't feel for the boys what she felt for girls.

And the girls. There were more than a few of them. Her parents had gotten used to the idea that she was gay by now – in fact, when Arizona had come out to her parents while still in high school, she was prepared for one question, which was "How fast can you get the hell out of my house?" But instead, her father had leveled his gaze at her, and, as one pair of nervous striking blue eyes held the gaze of an older, albeit identical, pair, he had asked in his gravelly, United States Marine Corps commander voice – "Are you still who I raised you to be?" Arizona had cried in relief. She wasn't sure how they'd respond. And later that night, as she sat her brother Timothy down on the back porch to tell him her news, he'd been ever so supportive and declared in his goofy way that he would dance so hard at her wedding when the time came for her to marry another chick. Boys will be boys.

But Tim had held her as she cried her heart out after her first major break up in college. Karli was a bitch anyway, he'd said, and he'd never really liked her. And he'd teased her endlessly after Joanne – the first girl she'd ever brought home to meet her parents – had left after having dinner with them. Yes the girls had come and gone, and while Arizona was very certain that she liked women, she was just as certain that she hadn't met the right one yet.

Tim jokingly referred to her graduate studies as her midlife crisis. "Not everyone marries their high school sweetheart, has their life all planned out including having three kids in five years like you!" she'd retorted. Arizona had made her decision to quit her job and focus on earning the coveted MLS degree so she could go on to become a crazy cat lady who hoarded books. Or chickens. She'd always had a thing for chickens. But that would mean living in a house with some sort of a yard. But Arizona was a ways from that still. She had more immediate priorities.

Early on in the semester, Arizona had found the perfect place to study in the university library. It was on the top floor, just behind the microfilm cases. No one used microfilm anymore, so no one bothered here. There was just one solitary desk, wedged behind a giant micro reader. It was quiet enough to get work done. There was even a little window that looked out over the courtyard, and on sunny days, she could lift her gaze from her books and watch people would laze about on the grassy patch - reading, napping, making out, whatever – whenever she needed a distraction. The remoteness of her study spot was also a draw… a lot of students liked to study on the balcony, but Arizona found it too loud, and too distracting. Still, it was conveniently located near the café, which was located right off the balcony, as a service to the students who were usually camped out at the library so they wouldn't have to go too far for sustenance and could get back to their books quicker.

Arizona liked the café. They served up some really good smoothies – you could even order these little booster thingies like chia seeds and wheatgrass to add on to your drink. Arizona's favourite was the number seven smoothie – the Strawberry Sensation, with an added chia seeds booster. It had become her routine: get up, walk the fifteen minutes to campus, go to class, lunch break on the courtyard – sometimes on her own, sometimes with Owen, Miranda, and maybe a couple of others from her class like Alex, head to another round of classes, head to the library, pick up a smoothie, and study behind the micro readers until it was time to go home.

She was looking forward to her smoothie today as she stepped into the café alcove and joined the queue. She needed a pick-me-up to get through some of the readings they'd been assigned that day. Arizona lazily checked her emails, texts and social media notifications while she waited in line, only half registering the shouts of the baristas as they took and fulfilled the orders of others ahead of her in the queue… most were ordering coffee. It was a long queue; it looked like she had caught the tail end of a wave of students from the 4pm class changeover.

"Arizona, right? Strawberry Sensation, with chia seeds?"

Arizona looked up from her phone as the barista behind the counter smiled at her.

"I'm sorry?"

The barista smiled shyly, raising one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "That's your usual drink, right? Strawberry Sensation, with chia seeds?"

Arizona nodded, smiling back, her dimples popping. "It is. I guess I'm rather predictable, aren't I?" She laughed.

The brunette laughed, relieved, her pearly whites on full displays. "Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? You know what you like. It's a popular combination, too. I just made one accidentally, actually. Someone wanted a Strawberry Banana Blast with chia seeds instead. I'd just be throwing this one away. Would you like it? On the house, of course?"

Arizona had been nursing a little crush on Callie, the café manager who also doubled up as barista when the crowd came in, ever since she'd started classes. But she'd never worked up the courage to say anything more than a hello or thank you or number seven with chia seeds please. She only knew her name was Callie from the name tag she wore pinned to her left breast.

Callie had long, wavy brown hair that tumbled halfway down her back, which she usually wore in a ponytail. Her caramel skin glowed with a healthy tan, and she favoured a bright red lipstick which made her plump lips pop, and dangly earrings. Today she wore a pair of large silver hoop earrings. In short, Callie was breathtakingly stunning. Arizona always had a thing for brunettes.

Arizona found herself at a loss for words. She knows my name! And my drink order! She opened her mouth to answer, but then just smiled nervously and nodded. Arizona felt a flush in her cheeks. Swallowing, and finding her voice, "Wow, thanks. That would be really awesome! My lucky day, I guess."

Mentally, Arizona slapped herself. Awesome? Who says awesome? She's going to think I'm like, five. She groaned internally.

Callie passed her the smoothie and a bendy straw wrapped in paper across the counter. "I'm just glad it won't go to waste! I just hate tossing things out. Starving kids in Africa and all."

Arizona took the smoothie and was glad to have something to do with her hands. She suddenly felt really self-conscious of what she was wearing. Truth be told, it wasn't that she was wearing hobo clothes, she just hoped that she didn't have any stains on her shirt or toilet paper stuck to her shoe or something. And, of all days, today was the day she ran out of the door in a hurry because she didn't hear her alarm go off, and therefore didn't bother with any makeup.

"Well, thank you so much. Again. That's really nice of you."

Another brilliant smile.

"You're welcome. Enjoy your drink!"

Arizona racked her brain in an attempt to come up with something intelligent as parting words, but came up empty, leaving her no choice but to stick with safe. "Well, I should probably stop holding up the line, and go er, study, you know? Thanks. Again." She waved awkwardly to Callie as she made her way out of the café, pausing at the door to look back and wave again.

The rest of the afternoon, Arizona couldn't seem to bring herself to concentrate on her readings. Sod library disaster plans. Her mind kept drifting back to dark, wavy hair and caramel skin, that killer smile, and plump red lips which Arizona was certain would be heaven to kiss. She felt her cheeks flush again. Arizona doodled on her notebook. How does she know my name? Oh, right. They always ask for a name with your drink order so they can write it on the cup. Duh. But Callie and her team of baristas must make hundreds of drinks every day. And she still remembers my name! And my order! Arizona smiled to herself like an idiot. Fortunately, in her secluded corner, no one could see her and wonder what she was smiling so idiotically about. She glanced around though, but there was no one nearby to see her grinning like a silly schoolgirl. She tried to focus on her notes again, but again, her mind wandered.


	2. Chapter 2

Even on the best of days, Arizona's Library Management class was tough to endure. Professor Stark was boring, long-winded, and terribly uninspiring. Arizona chewed on her pen and let her mind drift to strawberry smoothies, and a certain Latina barista who made them. She wondered if Callie would be in the café when class ended in about an hour.

Arizona found herself sneakily trying to pack away her things as the minutes ticked on and the lecture almost at an end. She was the first student out of the door, awkwardly trying to stuff papers into her notebook while simultaneously cramming it all into her bag. She crossed the courtyard to the library and waved at a group of students from her Library Science class gathered at the balcony as she hurried to the café. She smoothed her hair absently as she loitered outside, just out of view of the counter. She's gotten here so quickly that she'd beaten the post-class rush. But the hordes of students would be arriving any second now.

"You're early today."

Arizona almost yelped and dropped her backpack as Callie appeared from behind her, dressed casually in dark wash jeans, silky purple blouse with a slouchy neckline, and black ballet flats. Her outfit was completed by a badass looking black leather jacket, her purse slung casually on one shoulder. Her dark hair was held back by two bobby pins, one at each temple, while the rest flowed past her shoulders, down her back. Today, she wore a pair of silver teardrop-shaped earrings. Her lipstick of choice was bright red, as usual. She looked positively delicious. Hmm, she keeps tabs on what time I come here for my smoothie fix too.

"You scared me."

Callie's only reply was a devilish grin.

"Yeah, I just finished my Management class. Looks like I beat the onslaught."

"Yep, I usually take my afternoon break right before the 4pm rush, but I just got here today. What kind of management are you studying? Are you a business major?" Callie held the door open for Arizona as they walked together into the café.

"No, I'm doing Library Science."

"Oh, are you a graduate student? That's a master's program, right?"

Arizona nodded as she followed Callie up to the counter. "That's right. Finally got the guts to quit my job and go back to school. I just started this semester. New career time."

"Wow, that takes a whole lot of guts. You must tell me about your previous life sometime."

Arizona adjusted the shoulder strap of her backpack as Callie moved behind the counter and tapped a girl on her back. "Lexie, please give Arizona here a number seven – Strawberry Sensation – with chia seeds. I'm going round back to change." Callie whispered something in Lexie's ear; the barista with dirty blonde hair called Lexie nodding at Arizona and smiling. "Coming right up."

Callie winked as she moved to the back of the counter where there was a wooden swing door labelled 'Staff Only.'

"I'll see you around, Arizona."

Arizona waved Callie goodbye with one hand as the other held out a five dollar bill to the barista at the cash register.

"The boss lady says to put it on her tab," said Lexie, waving away her money.

Arizona was taken aback and tried to refuse, but Lexie was adamant.

Arizona waited by the pickup counter for her smoothie, feeling a little guilty about getting another free drink, but also pretty excited. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered crazily as she contemplated the situation. What did these free smoothies mean?

To her disappointment, Callie didn't reappear from behind the 'Staff Only' door while she was still there. Arizona couldn't exactly be hanging around, so she left.

That night, while she was making her dinner of mac and cheese - Kraft's, out of a box, obviously; Arizona wasn't much of a cook – she called Tim.

"So then she gave me another free smoothie. That's the second one, Tim!"

"No, I don't know what it means."

"How is it you're slow picking up the cues from this one? She's obviously into you, duh!" Tim retorted, to the sounds screaming, then crying, in the background.

"Uh, is this a bad time? Should I just text you later?"

"Yeah, I think Liam just hit Hannah with his Superman toy. I'm going to have to go check on her. But come on, seriously. She's trying to win your affection, Z! She remembers your order, even your booster! And she wants to hear about your past life and your boring degree."

"My degree is not boring!" Arizona yelled back, hoping to be heard over the din of her niece's screams.

"Ok I have to quieten Hannah down before she screams herself hoarse again like last time. This conversation isn't over, though. I'll call you later."

Ten minutes later, as Arizona read her assignments over her boxed gourmet meal, her phone dinged.

Tim: I think you should throw yourself at her. Make passionate love to her on the counter of the café. The chocolate syrup and whipped cream are already there.

Arizona cringed. Tim could be such a pig.

But the mental image he'd conjured up was… distracting.

Interesting.

Arizona: You're not helping. I'm asking for advice.

 _*ding*_

Tim: You don't need advice. You've got game. You just need to figure out if this is a chance you're willing to take.

Arizona: What if I'm reading the signs wrong?

 _*ding*_

Tim: If you called it wrong, then you just can't show your face around there for a while and have to go get your smoothie fix elsewhere. If you called it right, well you could have free smoothies for the rest of your life! And so much more ;)

Arizona rolled her eyes. Pig though he may be, Tim had a point. One free smoothie Callie claims she accidentally made could have been just her lucky day. But twice?

Arizona: I don't want to be the creepy customer she writes a post on Facebook about me hitting on her, you know?

 _*ding*_

Tim: Take it slow, sis. Go when it's not so busy and see if you can catch her for a short chat. Talk about non-creepy stuff. See if she sends you more signals.

 _*ding*_

Tim: You know this stuff.

She paused. She did. She had game.

 _*ding*_

Tim: By the way, since she works in a café, maybe she knows how to cook so you won't starve to death.

Arizona: Hey, I can cook! As long as it comes out of a box, or a jar.

Arizona: You're such an ass. But thanks T-man. Bye.

She threw down her phone in a huff.

She had no problems getting girls in the past.

But what was it about Callie that made her so nervous and making her feel so off her game?

One thing was certain though – Arizona knew that she wanted to get to know the woman better.

Arizona took her time leaving class the next day. She had a question to ask the professor about her next assignment, and she had to wait for the rest of the class to leave. For once, she didn't mind the professor's long-windedness. She'd let him ramble on, and hopefully by the time she got to the café, the 4pm rush would have subsided. Then she'd casually saunter up to the counter and impress Callie with her smooth talk and overall sex appeal. She'd even put on one of her favourite shirts that day – a deep blue long-sleeved shirt which made her eyes pop, dark skinny jeans, and black booties (she'd undo another button on her walk to the café). And she'd put on some light make up this morning.

Arizona waited as long as she could before heading to the door, but then she realised to her dismay that it was pouring with rain outside. The normally bright sky was overcast with big, grey clouds today, and rain was pouring in sheets. People were running between buildings, holding their bags overhead while their clothes got soaked and clung to their skin. A clap of thunder reverberated through the halls. Even though the library steps were only about fifty yards from where she stood, there was no way she was going to make it there without getting drenched. The rain wasn't going to do her curls any favours either. She'd actually made an effort today.

It was now or never. If she waited any longer she would encounter another big rush close to 5pm, and she wouldn't get to talk to Callie at all. Also, Arizona was willing to bet that as a result of the cold downpour, many students would be making a beeline to the café for a warm beverage.

She felt clumsy, ungraceful and completely uncoordinated as she darted across the courtyard with her bag banging against her side and the rain falling down hard around her. Arizona ducked between the pillars and paused to catch her breath on the front steps of the library. Her shoes squelched, her damp shirt clung to her limply, and the legs of her jeans were wet and muddied. Also, these boots weren't meant for running. She didn't dare think what her hair must look like. She shook her hands to get the excess water off them, and she went inside, dripping, just like everybody else. Those lucky enough to have umbrellas shook them vigorously outside and stamped their feet before moving deeper into the library.

She headed up the stairs towards the café. It was mercifully quiet. Callie was refilling sugar packets and napkins. She looked up when she heard the door open. She smiled a genuine, welcoming smile when she saw Arizona.

Arizona felt a fluttering in her chest. Callie looks happy to see me!


	3. Chapter 3

"You made it! I was wondering if I'd see you. I thought maybe the rain was keeping you away. It looks pretty bad out there. I barely made it here myself earlier."

Callie picked up a handful of clean paper napkins and offered them to Arizona, who accepted them gratefully. The butterflies in her body fluttered crazily at hearing that Callie had been looking forward to seeing her. Calm yo' tits, Z.

"Thanks." Arizona tried to play it cool as she accepted the napkins Callie held out, drying her hands and face a little, and pressing them to her shirt in an attempt to dry it.

"Yeah it's pretty wet out there. I had to run in the rain, and let's just say that these boots definitely weren't made for running." Arizona lifted one foot and shook it for emphasis.

Callie quirked an eyebrow and eyed the now slightly muddied boots. "I'll say. So, you're late."

"Well, yeah, I had to stay after class awhile today."

"Not in trouble, I hope." Callie narrowed her eyes and smirked mischievously.

"No, no. Just needed to clarify something for our assignment. And then I was hoping the rain might let up a little. No such luck though. Instead, it got worse. I must look like a drowned rat."

"Oh good. I mean, oh good you weren't in trouble. And no, you don't look like a drowned rat."

They were interrupted by a girl wearing a beanie walking into the café. Callie stepped back behind the counter and took an order for a latte.

Arizona hung back, a little uncertain whether she should wait around or not. She couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by beanie-wearing girl for interrupting. She felt like she and Callie were having a 'moment' there.

Thankfully it didn't take long to fulfil her order. As the girl left, Callie held out her hand.

"What?"

"Napkins. I can take those wet, soggy napkins for you."

"Oh, thanks." Z, you spaz.

Callie tossed the soaked napkins into the recycling bin behind the counter. "Can I make you a smoothie? Or maybe you'd like something warm, because of all the rain."

Arizona stepped up to the counter. She put her finger to her chin as she contemplated her choices. After all, life was all about choices, right? The road not taken and all that. Her conversation with Tim the previous night came to mind. He was right. It was all about making choices. She could choose to put herself out there, and maybe try to get something going with Callie, or she could choose to nurse her pathetic crush in silence.

"You know, I've never had anything other than a number seven. Maybe I'll try something different today. Like you said, because of the rain. What would you recommend?"

Callie's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the question. Arizona knew she'd asked the right question.

"Well, tell me a little bit about what you like." Callie said, leaning forward on her elbows, the neck of her black polo tee drooping slightly to reveal just the tiniest hint of delicious, generous, caramel cleavage.

Arizona tried to avert her eyes, but knew she was probably blushing already.

"Um, well, I like strawberries, obviously. But you already know that. I like a good coffee, cinnamon, pumpkin spice. Chai too, sometimes. And tea. Well, I like, pretty much everything, really. I'm really easy to please." Arizona laughed nervously. Wow, smooth, Z.

Callie looked thoughtful, though Arizona thought she might have seen a gleam in her eyes. "Have you got a few minutes?" Callie asked.

Arizona nodded. "Sure."

"Okay, then grab a seat! I'll make you something that I think you'll like, but it'll take a few minutes to steep."

Callie grabbed a tin from one of the shelves and proceeded to scoop some dark tea leaves into an unbleached paper pouch.

Arizona sat down at a small, round, wooden table in the corner near the windows of the café and watched as Callie poured steaming water into an orange ceramic mug. She moved with a certain graceful confidence, navigating around the appliances and other colleagues as she worked. It was clear Callie was very at home in that space.

The café chairs were more comfortable than they looked. Arizona leaned her bag against the wall to keep it upright, and used the time to dry herself off a little bit more with a few extra napkins that were in a napkin holder on the table .

After about five minutes Callie walked over with two oversized steaming mugs and set one down in front of Arizona. "Mind if I join you?"

Arizona felt the fluttering in her chest return. "I'd love it if you did." Hey, not bad Z! She patted herself on the back mentally in congratulations. She leaned forward over her mug and inhaled its spicy-sweet scent. "Mm, this smells delicious. What is it?"

"It's an Indian masala chai. I infuse the milk with a special blend of spices, and I use honey and vanilla. It's my favourite for cold, wet days."

Arizona lifted her mug with both hands, warming them, and blew over the tea to cool it a little before trying a sip. The hot beverage warmed her insides instantly, the cold from the rain dissipating. "Oh, wow. That's seriously delicious. This might just become my new favourite beverage! It's awesome." Stop using the word awesome, Z! You're a grown-ass woman… use grown up words!

Callie threw her head back and laughed, showing her perfectly even set of teeth. She lifted her mug in salute. "You're welcome," she said, taking a sip from her own mug.

Think, Z! Tim said non-creepy stuff!

"So," Arizona began, "have you been working here long?" Oooh, not bad. Good start.

"About six years. I graduated from here and just kind of, never left." The brunette laughed. "I did work-study in the dining halls when I was a student, and they manage this café. When I graduated, they had just launched this place, and so I stayed on as part time staff while trying to land some actual work. Clearly it didn't work out like I hoped it would. This isn't the most glamorous job, but the hours are decent, and I get to invent new drinks. Occasionally I help out with the performing arts classes… last year I helped stage manage their annual theatre production. They did West Side Story. It was fun." She shrugged, looking somewhat wistful.

"Sounds kind of nice to me. I never realised how much I missed being in an academic setting. My last job just sucked all the life out of me. Maybe they'll need a new library person by the time I'm done with my program."

"Yeah. Maybe some of the old librarians will retire, and they'll be looking for new recruits. Then you can stay on and be my test subject for new smoothie flavours."

Arizona felt the butterflies again. Was Callie hinting that she hoped Arizona would stay around? Or did she just mean as a customer? Although, she hadn't paid for her last two drinks, or this tea either, come to think about it. Yikes. Arizona felt a little giddy with the possibilities swirling around her. Okay, calm down. She cast about for something else to ask Callie to keep the conversation flowing. "You said you graduated from here? What was your degree in?"

The brunette nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "I did. I majored in performing arts. Which, by the way, comes in really handy in a café." She laughed. "Oh what's that sir, you'd like a double caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream and extra caramel sauce? That'll be five thousand calories and early onset diabetes please." Callie poked fun in a high-pitched, sing song voice. Arizona laughed, dimples on full display. She loved people with a good sense of humour. Women, in particular. And Arizona was quickly coming to realise that the sound of Callie's laughter was about to rank high on her list of favourite things.

"The dream was to perform on Broadway, you know? I went for some auditions, but honestly I don't think I was ever good enough. Yeah I got cast for some minor roles… ever heard of this off-Broadway play called A Gentleman's Fate?"

Arizona shook her head.

"Yeah, I was whore number three… Nothing glamourous. That was the last one I did. Anyways, it was always just tiny roles. Nothing really big materialised. So I came back here. The economy was in the toilet and I had bills to pay, so I came back." Callie sounded wistful, dejected almost.

Arizona felt gutted. "Hey, you could always try again. Times have changed, right?" She wished she was brave enough to reach across the table and take Callie's hand. Maybe too soon, she thought.

"That's kind of you. Yeah, maybe. Sometimes I think I just need a really big push to get out of my comfort zone. But for now I'm content with where I am, and that's good enough for me. Besides, I get to meet cute baby librarians. How can I complain?"

Arizona really did blush this time. Callie had just called her cute. She didn't even know how to respond. It had been such a long time since anyone had called her cute. And… was Callie flirting with her? People just didn't do that. Arizona wasn't sure what was going on now. She looked down at her tea and took another sip. What was happening? Why was Z Robbins such a spaz in Callie's presence? Tim would find the entire situation hilarious.

A/N: Thank you for the favs, reviews and follows! Our girls are slowly but surely getting there... ;)


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry. Did I say something to upset you?" Callie looked concernedly at Arizona, chewing her lip. "I apologise if I did."

"No, no, it's not that at all. I'm acting weird." She shook her head. Arizona tried to laugh. "I'm really off my game!"

Callie didn't try to rush her. She just sat quietly and observed the gorgeous blonde seated in front of her. That shirt really brings out the blue of her eyes, she thought to herself. And those dimples! And that ass in those jeans? That ass does NOT quit.

"I don't think you're acting weird. It's fine. God knows I'm a spaz myself most days."

Arizona laughed. "No! You, a spaz? I sincerely doubt it." She took a deep breath. It was now or never. She should just do it.

"Um, so, Callie. I really, really, like this tea. You keep giving me free smoothies. And you're so nice to talk to. You're funny. And you're gorgeous. And I'm kind of really nervous here because I'm not usually like this, so I'd totally understand if you say no. I mean, I almost feel like I should just tell you to tell me to go away, but… I'm just…" God, just stop rambling!

She stopped herself. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling. I guess what I'm really trying to say here is, do you wanttomaybehavecoffeewithmesometime? Or something?" The words came out in a rush, as though if she didn't say them all at once, she wouldn't be able to say them at all.

Callie pressed her fingers to her lips to cover the cutest grin. This woman was adorable.

Arizona winced. That had to be one of the worst ways a woman had ever been asked out in the history of people asking other people out. Callie was laughing at her and probably trying to figure out how to let Arizona down gently. Oh God. She'd totally read the signs wrong, didn't she? Shit. She was just being friendly! Arizona's brain was in overdrive.

"Yeah, my schedule's kinda insane right now, but I'll get back to you," Callie replied with a straight face, completely unaware of the thoughts running through Arizona's mind. And felt bad almost immediately after she said it as she watched Arizona's face fall. It was almost like a light had gone out in those clear blue eyes.

Callie reached out and touched Arizona's hand. "I'm sorry. That was the most… adorable way that anyone has ever asked me out in my life. And, at the risk of making you feel silly, I just have to point out that we're already sort of having coffee – okay, tea – right now. Already."

Arizona lowered her head. She had totally blown it.

Callie reached out again and lifted Arizona's chin gently. She smiled at her, her smile lighting up her entire face.

"I was kinda starting to think that you'd never ask me."

"Yeah, it's okay to say no. I'm sorry I asked."

Wait, what?

She said yes! Well, not exactly, but she didn't say no! That was a yes, wasn't it?

"Wait, what?"

Callie laughed again. "Yes, Arizona, I'd love to maybe have coffee with you sometime. Or something. Even though that's kinda what we're doing now."

Arizona beamed. Her dimples were on full display now. "You would?" The light was back in her eyes.

Callie returned an equally wide smile. "Yeah! I've been sort of trying to flirt with you for ages. I mean, I made all those smoothies hoping that you'd – I don't know – notice? Believe me, I'm way worse at asking people out. I mean, I've never done it. So I'm glad I didn't have to, and that you asked me. So yeah, I'd love to have coffee or something with you somewhere that is not here, and without my colleagues giggling at the back." Callie gestured to the café counter where the other baristas were looking-at-them-but-trying-to-make-like-they-weren't, and rolled her eyes.

Arizona was so relieved she almost felt faint. "Are you kidding? I thought you were just being nice to me because you felt sorry for me or that I looked so pathetic and old or something." She rambled.

"Old? You're nuts, Arizona. You don't honestly think you look old, do you? Because that would be crazy. You're really cute."

Arizona smiled shyly. "Maybe we could have dinner Saturday night. Do you like Thai?"

"I love Thai. How about that place downtown? I've heard they make a really great pad Thai. And spring rolls."

"That sounds nice."

Callie chanced a glance at the watch on her wrist. It was nearly 5pm, the rush would start soon. Arizona noticed Callie glancing at her watch and knew that Callie would have to get back to work soon.

"Want to meet me there? I live downtown."

"Sounds awesome." Arizona couldn't believe her luck. A date. With Callie. On Saturday. Three days away. "I can't wait."

"Me either." Callie stood and moved to take Arizona's mug. "I have to get back to work, and I've probably kept you from your studies too long."

Arizona shook her head. "This was much, much nicer than Management homework. I'd really rather be sitting here with you. What time should I meet you on Saturday?"

"How about seven? Seven, like your smoothie?" Callie replied with a twinkle in her eye.

Arizona laughed. "Sounds perfect. See you Saturday!"

Arizona really couldn't focus on her homework. She couldn't believe that she'd managed to get a date with Callie. The gorgeous Latina she'd been crushing on. And she couldn't wait for Saturday night!

She picked up her phone to text Tim.

 _*ding*_ His reply was almost immediate.

Tim: Z Robbins is back in the saddle! Beep boop!

Arizona laughed. Dork.

The days leading up to Arizona's first date with Callie dragged by. Although her management class was always a little dry, it seemed like the professor was going out of his way to be extra dull. She had to work really hard to keep herself from drifting off into daydreams of Callie and the brilliant conversations they would share over pad Thai, spring rolls and lemongrass drinks in a couple of days. Arizona's mind was filled mainly with thoughts of Callie, and their perfect first date.

When Saturday finally rolled around, Arizona stood in front of her closet in her pajamas, trying to decide what to wear. She wasn't quite sure, considering she'd never actually been to the restaurant they were going to that night. She figured that she'd be able to make a better decision if she looked it up on the internet, so that's exactly what she did.

Just as she'd decided on a pair of blue dark wash skinny jeans paired with a bluish-purpley sleeveless blouse, and contemplating which pair of shoes to wear them with, her phone rang.

"T-man!"

"Z! Today's the big date, isn't it!"

Arizona held the phone away from her ear and scrunched her face as her brother's voice boomed loudly through the phone.

"Take it down a notch, will you? I just woke up. How is it you sound more excited than I do?"

Arizona propped her phone in the crook of her neck as she bent to pick up a pair of strappy heels off the floor.

"Because I am! Shaved your legs yet?"

"What? I'm planning to wear jeans!"

"Well, it doesn't hurt to make a little extra effort for your lay-deeeeee…"

"I don't know why I still speak to you when all you do is make fun of me."

"Because you love me more than anything. Well, besides Liam and Hannah and Olivia and Sarah and mum and dad… But you know what I mean!"

The siblings went back and forth in playful banter for another few minutes. Though it made Arizona miss her family back at home, it helped that they still spoke every few days and were kept up to date through texts.

Arizona could hardly sit still for the rest of the day. There was no point in doing any homework readings – she was too distracted to focus on anything else but Callie and their impending date. She'd been texting with her best friend Teddy too, who was doing her best to calm Arizona down and send her good vibes from across the country.

Arizona was just stepping out of the shower at six when her phone started ringing. She wrapped a pink fluffy towel around herself and hurried into the bedroom to grab her phone off her nightstand in case it was Callie calling.

But it wasn't.

It was the library calling.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is that Arizona?"

"Yes, it is. James?" James, as in James Golding, Arizona's boss, the head of the Circulation Unit.

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm so glad I caught you. A pipe burst, and we've got flooding on the upper floors. Could you come in please? A lot of the librarians are at the ALA conference in Chicago, and we're really desperate. We need all hands on deck for disaster recovery."

Arizona's mouth fell open. They had just been talking about disaster plans in her management class, and here she was, facing a real life disaster. She answered automatically.

"Oh, of course. I'll just need to get changed. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm just about fifteen minutes away."

"Thanks Arizona. You'll get overtime for it. See you soon."

The call ended, and Arizona felt a little dazed as she stared down at her phone. She looked over at her bed, where her carefully curated outfit was laid out, ready to be worn for a night out. A wave of disappointment rushed over her. Why did it have to happen tonight? Why did she have to get called in now?

"Damn it!" She stomped her feet in frustration. She towelled off quickly, and instead of pulling on the outfit she had chosen for her date that evening, picked out a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a worn grey t-shirt. She'd have to call Callie on her way to campus and tell her that she had to cancel. Arizona hoped Callie would understand. And hoped that Callie didn't think she was chickening out or not interested. And that Callie would agree to reschedule.

She grabbed a jacket and baseball cap from the coat stand in the hall, and tied the laces of an old pair of Converse. Better safe than sorry. Who knew how much of a mess the burst pipe had caused? Grabbing her car keys, she locked the door behind her. Usually, Arizona would walk the half mile or so to campus – that took her about fifteen minutes at a brisk pace. But today she needed to hurry, so she set off in her little blue Prius C.

She dialled Callie's number as she pulled out of the parking garage.

"Hello, you've reached Callie's voicemail. I'm either busy or don't want to talk to you… leave a message!"

Damn it.

"Hi Callie, it's me. Arizona. Look, I'm so sorry, but a pipe burst in the library or something, and I've got to go in and help rescue books because half the staff are away at a conference. I'm really, really sorry. I was really looking forward to spending time with you. Can we maybe reschedule dinner? Please don't think I'm trying to avoid you or anything. Ok I'm rambling again. Please, just call me when you get this?"

Arizona sighed as she ended the call and tossed her phone onto the passenger seat. She was really annoyed. She honked loudly at an SUV which cut into her lane without indicating. Damn that stupid pipe. Couldn't it have burst tomorrow?

A/N: Yo yo yo hello again everybody! Damn that stupid pipe... couldn't it have burst tomorrow? :( Anyways, this isn't going to be too long a story - maybe about six or seven chapters more to go. Might do an epilogue... thots? Happy weekend!


	5. Chapter 5

By the time she parked her car, she had calmed down somewhat. She really hoped Callie would understand. She kept checking her phone, hoping that Callie would either call or text, but no such luck.

She pushed open the door to the library; it looked unusually busy for a Saturday night. Arizona hurried up the stairs. She dropped her bag at the desk and took the back stairs so that she wouldn't have to walk past the café, which would only serve to remind her of what she was missing out on.

She made her way through the shelves towards the front, where she could hear a lot of activity. As she got closer, she saw gaps in the ceiling where the tiles had gotten soaked and caved in, crushing the two shelving units directly beneath them. Mark, from her management class, was already there. "Hi Arizona." He waved and grimaced as he indicated the mess behind him.

Yellow caution tape had been strung all around the wet area. It looked like the pipe had stopped leaking. A crew from a disaster recovery company was already on site and had started cleaning up the fallen ceiling tiles, working on sopping up the water in the carpets and wiping down the shelves.

"Hi, Mark. So what are we doing?" Arizona lifted the tape and walked up to him.

"Mostly we're keeping out of the way and taking books off the shelves to set them up to dry. The sooner we can get these fanned out and put paper towels between the pages, the better." He picked up a large Rubbermaid tub that Arizona recognised as one of the library's disaster kits.

Arizona watched where Mark was pointing and followed him. There were several book carts waiting. They loaded them with wet books, and Arizona started wheeling her cart after Mark as they headed to the perimeter of the stacks. There they could set up the books on some of the work tables and be out of the way of the clean up crew.

The library flood recovery kit contained lots of plastic sheeting, rubber gloves, dust masks, flashlights, and an assortment of other things. Arizona followed Mark's lead as he put on rubber gloves, and with other library staff, worked as hard and fast as they could trying to get as many books dried out as quickly as possible. If the booked stayed wet, they could get mouldy, and then there would really be no saving them.

It was pretty mindless work once you got into the rhythm of it. Open book, check for wetness, put paper towels between pages, and then set the books upright in front of the fans. Some books - anything with heavy, clay-coated pages - were simply too waterlogged to save. For those, they wrote down titles, call numbers, and bar codes. These would need to be discarded, and then replaced.

Arizona and Mark worked side by side for two hours, talking a little bit, but largely focusing on their works. Arizona was now coated in grime and dust and water. Her hair had gotten really frizzy as it dried in the humid library, and she knew she had smudges of dirt and dust on her cheeks. The fans that had been set up to dry the floor were stirring up any dust that hadn't gotten washed away. Feeling sticky and grimy, she sighed as she tore off sheets of paper towel, Callie and their now-cancelled first date at the foremost of her mind.

"You okay, Arizona?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… well, I had plans tonight. Plans that I was really looking forward to, that's all."

"Big date or something?" Mark asked with a grin.

Arizona winced.

"Oh, sorry. You really had a date huh. Man, that sucks. Who's the lucky guy? Anyone I know?" Mark probed. He was probably trying to be friendly but she was starting to find him kinda annoying.

Arizona looked down at the book she was holding, suddenly wishing that their conversation had taken a different turn. She started tearing paper towels to give herself something to do. She knew that Mark, like Owen, had served in a combat zone, except that Mark had been with the Navy while Owen, the military. His salt and pepper hair was short, and he looked pretty conservative. What would he say or how would he react if she told him that she was dating – or rather, trying to date – a girl?

She took a chance.

"Her name is Callie. She, um, works at the café in the library."

"Oh. Um. Wow," Mark said, suddenly going silent and finding the book he was working on very interesting.

Arizona felt that too-familiar sinking feeling. Well, at least he hadn't said something nasty in response. There were worse ways a person could respond to a revelation that someone was anything other than heterosexual.

"So that explains why she turned me down." Mark carefully fitted a folded paper towel into a book.

Arizona's head jerked up. "Huh?"

Mark smiled a little self-consciously.

"Well, I asked her out. And she said no thanks. I guess it's probably not… well, I hope I don't sound like a jerk for saying this, but I sort of feel better knowing that she's into women. So it's not like I just totally struck out because I said something stupid, or that she didn't find me interesting."

The relief Arizona felt was tangible. She let out the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding and laughed softly. "Oh yeah, that might have had something to do with it."

He was a good looking man, and quite charming, if Arizona were to believe the chatter of some of the girls in her class whom she'd seen him chatting to more than a few times before or after class, and sometimes around campus. To be honest, Arizona thought Mark was a bit of a flirt. She was glad Callie had turned him down. Her stomach turned at the thought of Mark and Callie together. Is that jealousy, Z Robbins?

Mark's gravelly voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"But I'm so sorry. Like I said, that sucks. It wasn't your first date, though, was it?" he asked.

Arizona winced.

"Oh man, that really, really sucks." He made a face. "But I'm sure she understood."

Arizona's shoulders slumped. "I'm not even sure I'll get another chance at a first date. I didn't get to talk to her. I called but she didn't pick up, so I left a voicemail to explain and asking her to call me. She hasn't called or texted since."

"Damn, that stinks. But I'm sure it'll work out. Callie will be fine with it. She seemed like such an unflappable chick."

"Who's an unflappable chick?"

Arizona jumped, dropping the book she'd been working on.

"Callie!"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Apologies for the mumbo jumbo that appeared with the upload of Chapter 6 previously. Massive thanks to RaechelZ for the PM that alerted me of the problem!

Callie stood in the doorway wearing a muddy half-apron over her clothes, her hair up in a messy bun. She smiled.

"Guilty. Did you get my message? I hope you did."

Arizona shook her head. "What message? Did you get my message?"

Mark stood up as silently as he could, picking up an empty paper towel roll. "I'm just going to get more paper towels.

Arizona looked at the several rolls of paper towels on the table between them, and she raised an eyebrow at Mark. He smiled and jerked his head towards Callie. "If you ladies will excuse me…" He headed off.

"Arizona was about to take her hat off when she remembered that she'd put it on when her hair was wet, and she didn't want to have to deal with hat hair in addition to being so grimy. She fidgeted awkwardly. "Callie, I… How did you know to come here?"

"I got a call about the leak. I guess it seeped through the floor and started leaking into the café. I came in to survey the damage." Callie walked over and stood beside Arizona, watching her tear paper towels for a moment before she started doing the same. "I tried to call you from the café, but you didn't answer your phone."

"Oh my god. I left you a message on your cell when I got the call to come in," Arizona said. She reached for her phone and realised it wasn't in her pocket. She must have left it in her bag down at the desk. She gasped. "Crap. I left my phone downstairs! I'm really sorry!"

"And I haven't checked my phone for hours. I'm sorry too. I really should have thought to check," Callie apologised as she started scrolling through the messages on her phone. Arizona suddenly remembered her desperate, pathetic message. "No!" she yelped. She reached out to grab Callie's phone.

Their hands touched.

More accurately, Arizona's yucky gloved hand touched Callie's perfectly clean hand. Arizona recoiled in shame and horror. "Sorry! It's just… I feel like I left a stupid message. You don't need to listen to it. Please, I rather you didn't.

Callie seemed unfazed by the grimy glove. Rather, she looked amused, even. "What made it stupid?"

"It just… I was…" Arizona looked up at Callie. She decided to just come clean and say it. "Well, I was worried that you'd think I was just cancelling because I chickened out, or didn't want to see you, or something. And I rambled a lot, and I'm sure I came off sounding crazy or stupid. Or both.

"Callie jabbed at the screen on her phone. "There. One voice mail from you, deleted. Does that help?"

Arizona had to laugh. "Yeah, that does. Thanks. You must think I'm crazy."

"Nah, just, you know, first date jitters. Maybe I didn't leave a long voice mail for you, but I was definitely freaking out a little at having to postpone."

Arizona looked over Callie's face. "You just don't seem like the freaking out type."

The brunette chuckled. "I do. I freak out all the time. I just picked off all my new nail polish." She held up her hand to show chipped polish. "I just did them this morning. Also, sometimes I chew on my hair. See, now who sounds crazy?"

Arizona felt so much better. "Maybe both of us." She set up the last book on her cart. "Or neither. Or maybe we can take turns to be crazy." She smiled a dimpled smile.

"So, can I help? You look like you've still got quite a bit to do," Callie offered.

Arizona debated internally. Maybe Callie was offering just to be polite. But maybe she really did want to help. "You don't have to. You're probably tired from cleaning up the café all by yourself…"

"It wasn't a big spill down there. I just had to rinse out some display cases and do a little mopping. I'm good to go on book detail."

Well, she'd offered the easy out, and Callie was still here. It was kind of exciting. "We basically need to put paper between the pages to keep these from drying into solid slocks of paper." Mark had never come back with the paper towels that he'd left to supposedly fetch. Arizona decided that she'd buy him a coffee after their next class as a thank you.

"It's really nice of you to help us rescue the books. We're kind of short staffed right now; a lot of our librarians are away at a conference. And I'm really sorry we had to cancel our date."

"It's no big deal. These things happen. And, anyway I'm glad I can help." Callie sat down at the work table with Arizona. "Besides, this is one of the better reasons that someone's ever had to cancel a date on me."

"You've had other cancelled dates?" Arizona was surprised that anyone would cancel a date with someone like Callie.

"Yeah, I actually got cancelled on a lot when I first started dating girls. I had just come out, and I was sort of dating every lesbian I met. I felt like I needed to find a soul mate immediately, because all of the lesbians I knew were a lot older, and they were all married or living with long-term partners. I felt like I was somehow 'not lesbian enough' if I didn't have a perfect girlfriend. I think I ended up putting a lot of pressure on my early girlfriends, and that probably scared them off."

Arizona nodded as she listened to Callie recount her experience. She thought back to her own coming out period, where she'd been too scared to even talk to another girl for fear of freaking them out. She'd lost some friends who thought would be really supportive, but she'd become closer to others. She could empathise with the pressure Callie was talking about, even if she'd experienced it differently.

"After a year or so, I kind of got over that idiotic idea that I needed to settle down right away," Callie mused. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she asked Arizona, "So what's the weirdest date cancellation you've had?"

"Well, there was this one time I cancelled a date with a gorgeous brunette barista because my library flooded." Arizona grinned at Callie shyly, who smiled widely in return. "Okay, let me think… I dated this one girl who worked at my company. And she cancelled a date with me right when I showed up at her door to pick her up. She said she'd just had an epiphany, and that she had found her true purpose in life. She was going to clown college, and she couldn't go out with me because she was packing her suitcase."

Callie stared at Arizona incredulously. "Was she actually going?"

"Arizona shrugged as she struggled to separate two pages of a book. "I don't know. I never saw her again after that. Although every time I see a clown, I kind of wonder if it's her."

Callie scrunched her face. "I hate clowns. And yes, that's a pretty out-there cancellation alright."

Arizona nodded, starting to laugh. "I guess my library flood seems pretty reasonable in comparison."

"Even more reasonable since it actually did happen, and I was here to see it too."

"Lucky me. And even luckier, since you're still here, even though I'm covered in grime and must look like a complete wreck."

"You're a cute wreck." They both grinned at each other, feeling completely at ease in each other's presence.

They worked side by side for a few more hours, making small talk and occasionally glancing shyly at one another. Finally, Arizona reached for another book from the pile of wet ones and realised that they were done with all the books. "Hey, I think that was the last one."

"Callie wiped her hands on a paper towel. "Great! Is there anything else we can help with?"

"I'll just go check with James. He's the librarian in charge. I'll be right back." Arizona got up, peeling off her glove and tossing them into the garbage bag they'd been using. She set off to look for James.

Arizona found him bagging up wet books for the dumpster. He said that they'd done everything that was urgent for the night and asked her to make sure she sent him an email reminding him to authorise overtime pay for her. She promised that he would, and left to find Callie again.

"Looks like we're all set for tonight." Arizona checked her phone. "Oh my god, it's almost one a.m."

"Did you drive here? May I walk you to your car?" Callie offered Arizona her arm.

"That'd be really nice. Can we walk by the dumpster on the way?" Arizona gestured to the bag of trash.

"Want me to help carry that?"

"It's not too heavy. But I could definitely use a hand with the doors on the way."

"They shrugged on their jackets and moved downstairs slowly through the now darkened library. Callie held the doors open through the staff-only areas and out to the dumpster.

"So, do you still want to be a librarian, even after all this?" Callie asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Arizona replied.

"What is it about libraries that you like so much?"

"Well, I like the mission of them. Anyone can come into the library, and just learn or read or get answers to questions. I love the sense of the place and the way people get really nostalgic about libraries, even if the internet is more convenient." Arizona paused. "Of course, that's a more romanticised notion of what a library is. My day to day job is more boring than that. I spend most of my days helping students find the reserve readings for Anthropology 101 and telling people where the bathrooms are."

Callie laughed, and again, Arizona was sure the sound of Callie's laughter was fast becoming a fixture on her list of favourite things.

"I think it sounds amazing. Maybe I should have become a librarian."

Arizona flushed with pleasure. "Of course, there's the paper jams in the printers, and the impatient professors who need an article like, right now…" Arizona dragged out the word 'now.' "But mostly, I enjoy what I'm doing, working in the library. And," Arizona looked up at Callie, "even if you didn't become a librarian yourself, you could probably live vicariously by dating a librarian."

The smile Callie gave her in return lit up the night.

"Well, it sounds like I'm in luck. Or, at least I hope I am. As long as she'll let me try to take her out to dinner again, to make up for the first date being flooded out."

"I think you'll find that she thinks it's an awesome idea." Way to go, Z!

Arizona had parked close to the library, so it wasn't that far a walk to get to her car. "So, what are you doing next Thursday night?" Callie asked as they approached Arizona's car.

Arizona found her keys. "Nothing yet, I think."

"Do you like art?"

Arizona nodded. "I'm no expert or anything, but I like visiting art museums and that kind of thing. What did you have in mind?"

"The new student art exhibit opens next Thursday. I thought maybe we could meet here again, go see some art, then grab a bite to eat or something. What do you think?"

It sounded like fun. It would give them plenty to talk about in case of any of those first date, awkward conversation gaps occurred. Although, the more she thought about it, the more Arizona realised that it was easy to talk to Callie. Being with her felt nice, safe, comfortable.

"I'd love to go. Barring any new floods or library emergencies, I'll be there. What time?"

"Lucky number seven again?" Callie stepped out of the way of Arizona's car so that she could get in.

Arizona pressed the unlock button on her key fob. "Lucky number seven again it is."

"Perfect. I'll probably see you in the café before then. But I'm really looking forward to Thursday." She held open Arizona's door.

Arizona tossed her purse onto the passenger seat and turned to face Callie. "Thanks Callie. For everything. For understanding. I had a nice time working with you tonight."

Callie looked down shyly, her fingers playing with the closure of Arizona's jacket. "I did too."

"Do you want me to drive you over to your car?"

"Nah, I'm just parked right over there." Callie gestured over her shoulder and indicated a car parked across the road.

Arizona felt like they were having a moment. Anticipation lingered in the crisp night air. Arizona found herself reaching for the lapels of Callie's black leather jacket, and pulling her close. She pressed a gentle kiss to Callie's cheek. "Good night, Callie."

Arizona couldn't see Callie's flushed cheeks in the dark, but she heard it in her voice. "Good night, Arizona."

Z Robbins was back in the saddle alright.


	7. Chapter 7

Arizona struggled to focus on Library Strategic Planning. The date – their first real date – was Thursday night, and it felt like Thursday was taking forever to roll around. On top of that, it seemed like her professor had made it his mission to be extra dull and monotonous this week. Arizona figured she was spending at least half of every class period and most of her time outside of class daydreaming about Callie.

And wondering what Callie's lips would feel like on hers. And how she would taste. She'd texted Tim the next morning after the library disaster to update him on her non-date. He was just as disappointed as she was that it didn't take place, but agreed it was a good sign that Callie wanted a do-over.

"Miss Robbins, if you could be so kind, perhaps you can share your thoughts on writing SMART action items."

Arizona snapped out of her daydream to find her professor's disapproving gaze directly on her. She froze for a second, racking her brain for something intelligent to say. She looked down at her notes, which were unhelpful because they consisted mostly of doodles.

"Um, well, each item needs to be focused on a particular step that you'll be taking that helps reach the goal." Here was where her past life came in useful. She knew all about SMART goals from her previous career. It was what her marketing strategies and performance reviews were based upon. Once she remembered this, she felt more confident. "For example, if you wanted to increase student engagement, you might consider creating a peer tutoring programme with your student library workers. A good action item for that would be to recruit ten students from your work force over the fall term. That's a reasonable number, and it gives you a deadline."

The look on Professor Stark's face was almost one of disappointment, like he was hoping that she'd come up with a terrible answer instead of the almost-perfect one she'd given. Arizona breathed a sigh of relief as he moved on to the next student, and forced herself to focus on the rest of the class.

Every day of that week was like that, and by the time she got to her last class on Thursday she was almost out of her mind with anticipation. It was one of those amazing fall days when everyone wants to be outside and soaking in the sunlight and the crisp fall air. The professor ended class ten minutes early. Arizona nearly ran out of the class.

She was out of the building and on her bike in record time. She had two hours before she was supposed to meet Callie. Once home, she took a good shower, and began prepping herself for their date.

Forty minutes later, Arizona looked at herself in the mirror as she adjusted her favourite teal scarf – the one with tiny butterflies - around her neck. The black skinny jeans she wore looked like they were painted on, and showed off her toned legs and glutes. The white oxford shirt she'd chosen was clean and crisp, and since they would be doing a little bit of walking, she'd decided to wear her black strappy wedges. Even her hair had decided to cooperate today. Her blonde curls fell around her shoulders nicely. She completed her outfit with a pair of gold bar earrings Tim had given her last Christmas, and a spritz of her favourite perfume.

She felt good, and she looked just as good, if she dared say so.

Arizona glanced at her watch. If she left now, she would probably be about thirty minutes early. But, being the daughter of a Marine, Arizona and Tim had both been brought up learning that it was always better to be early than on time, never late. Plus, Arizona knew there was no way she could sit quietly in her apartment waiting for time to pass. She'd go crazy. She pulled on her denim jacket and left the apartment, locking the door behind her.

The walk over was lovely. She walked at a slow pace, enjoying the evening air. The air was crisp but not chilly, the red and orange fall leaves danced around her ankles. While it wasn't cold enough for Arizona to see her breath, it was just cool enough to make her tighten her scarf around her neck. Leaves crunched underneath her feet. Just as she walked up the brick pathway to the library, she heard her phone ding.

Tim: Good luck! Relax, be yourself and you'll be just fine! Enjoy your date.

Arizona fired off a reply. Thanks! Tell you all about it later, she'd texted.

She looked up from her phone and was both pleased and excited to see Callie already seated on the library steps, waiting for her.

Callie wore her black leather jacket, as usual, a sparkly black top underneath, and dark wash jeans. Silver hoop earrings, shiny black pumps, handbag, and red lipstick completed her look. Callie looked delectable.

Arizona hurried up to Callie. "We said seven, didn't we?" She checked her watch again, but it was still ticking. It hadn't stopped. She wasn't late.

"Yes we did." Callie replied. "I'm early. I hate being late so I usually end up being really early. Plus I couldn't wait to see you. You're definitely not late."

Arizona's insides fluttered. "Wow. I'm usually early too. As you can see. Because here I am."

"We could go for a walk, if you want… the exhibit doesn't open for another fifteen minutes," Callie suggested.

"That sounds nice. It's a nice day for a walk." Callie stood. Arizona offered Callie her arm, and they set off. Arizona felt a thrill of delight run through her.

"I got you a little something," Callie said shyly.

Arizona gaped. "Awww, you didn't have to."

Callie pulled a small chocolate bar from her handbag. "It's my favourite kind. Caramel and sea salt. I thought we might share it as we walked."

It was a nice size to share, and it looked delicious.

"That was so sweet of you. I'd love to share it with you." Arizona tore the wrapper and broke off pieces for each of them, both ladies savouring the sweet-salty taste of the confection as they walked.

"To tell the truth, I'm glad you got here early. I love taking walks this time of year. The leaves are turning colours and it's just a little chilly, without being cold. So it makes you want to walk closer together," Callie said almost cheekily.

"I think I'd want to walk closer to you even if it were ninety out," Arizona admitted boldly.

"I like the sound of that."

They walked away from the library and towards the football field, arm in arm, soaking up the beautiful landscape.

"I don't think I've ever been up to the sports fields," Arizona admitted as she tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"My ex-girlfriend was a cheerleader, and I'd come to watch her practice, back in the day."

"Oh." Arizona didn't want to ask what happened between them, lest it was inappropriate first-date conversation. But Callie volunteered the information anyway. "She decided that she didn't want to be a lesbian anymore, and that she preferred penis over the vagina monologues."

"Yikes. That must have been hard for you."

"Well, it is what it is. I got over it and moved on."

They paused at the edge of the field just looking at each other and revelled in their closeness. Despite the chill in the air, the space between them felt warm and charged with attraction. Arizona found herself unable to look away from Callie, studying the shape of her face. Her almost aquiline nose. The pools of chocolate which were her eyes. And the way the corner of her mouth quirked into one of the smiles that seemed to light up her eyes. She looked beautiful in the setting sun, breathtakingly stunning.

Callie touched her face, and, leaning into her touch, Arizona couldn't think of anything else. Her breath caught in her throat as they leaned in towards each other.

The sudden, piercing sound of a car alarm going off jolted them and they leapt apart.

The moment was broken, and they both looked almost sorry. Arizona regretted that their first kiss hadn't happened there and then.

Nonetheless, their date had just started.


	8. Chapter 8

Callie slipped her hand into Arizona's with a little sideways glance to be sure that she didn't mind… Of course she didn't. She squeezed Callie's hand gently and they started walking back towards campus and the art gallery opening.

The University Gallery featured student artists, and every few weeks they hosted new student work. Tonight's opening was showcasing some new graduate student work. The doors to the exhibition were already open, and people were milling around talking and enjoying hors d'oeuvres.

"Because it's a student function, they can't serve alcohol," Callie explained as she helped herself to two long stemmed glasses from a waiter with a tray and handed Arizona one, "so they pretend and serve sparkling cider."

Arizona giggled as she accepted her glass and took a sip. The cold, fizzy cider was refreshing as it ran down her throat. "I like cider!"

They walked into the exhibit space together and left their coats at a coat check station just past the entrance, Arizona carefully tucking away the little plastic tag with the number 11 on it in her jeans pocket in order to collect their coats again later.

"I had no idea we even had a gallery like this on campus." Arizona stood next to Callie at the edge of a crowd around the first sets of art and surveyed the space around them. The high ceiling above them lent the space an air of sophistication and majesty.

"It's sort of a little-known secret," Callie explained. "Well, okay, not really a secret… it's advertised in the art department, on the notice boards, and in the university News Flash they email out. It's just in the little print at the end where they mention all the events that don't actually bring in money."

Arizona laughed.

"And did you know that when they first started sending out that newsletter, almost no one got it, because the university's spam filter had marked it as spam and was blacklisting the address."

"You're kidding!" Arizona turned to Callie with an incredulous look. "The university was spamming itself?" She chuckled. "Bummer. Actually, I'm not surprised. Did you get that glossy, fancy cardstock mailer they sent to every employee about reducing waste and conserving university resources by switching to email instead of print? I was so sure my supervisor was pulling my leg when we got that."

Callie nodded. "I got two copies. It was ridiculous. Really makes you wonder when they pull stunts like that one minute and cry that they're in the poorhouse the next minute.'

They walked together in a comfortable silence, one caramel hand entwined in a pale one, as they moved through the exhibits.

"So, how many shows have you been to here?" Arizona walked to the next canvas when a space cleared up near it so they could get close enough to see.

"I don't know anymore. Lots. I went to a ton when I was in school. We were quite supportive of our own faculty events – we'd go to the fine arts events and they'd come to our performing arts ones. But then I kinda stopped going for a while." She frowned for a moment and then quickly smiled to hide the expression.

But Arizona had caught the flicker of unpleasantness that crossed her face. There must be something Callie didn't want to talk about, so she changed the subject. "What other kinds of things did you do when you were in college?"

Callie laughed. Well, we did plenty of performances and stuff, and when I wasn't taking part in those or rehearsing, I worked in the café. Though sometimes maybe on weekends when we felt like we needed to hang loose for a bit we'd go dancing."

Arizona gulped a little. She was sure she would pass out if she ever saw Callie dancing. Callie had a sensuous air about her, and damn, Arizona was almost positive that when Callie danced, she would totally own the dance floor. And those hips… those hips would take everyone prisoner. She shook her head to get inappropriate thoughts out of her mind.

"I totally have two left feet, and absolutely no sense of rhythm. I'm a complete klutz."

Callie laughed. "Well, I'll just have to be patient when I teach you then," she said with a wink.

Arizona felt a wave of excitement rush through her, and her cheeks flushed. And that wink! Callie made her think some decidedly wonderful things that made heat rush through her body, straight to her nether regions. She was increasingly wishing that she had Callie all to herself and not in the middle of a room full of other people. She couldn't remember the last time that she'd enjoyed being on a date as much as she was enjoying this. Hell, she almost couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a date at all! Just being around Callie was fun. Their conversation wasn't filled with those awkward pauses that Arizona had come to associate with first dates and dating. It just seemed to flow. And Callie was funny, too—Arizona could feel her cheek muscles almost ache with smiling. She didn't want the night to end.

When Callie moved closer to one of the exhibits, Arizona found herself staring at the nape of her neck and the way her hair moved across it. Callie had gathered her long, raven locks into a messy bun and secured it with a black elastic band earlier on their walk as the wind whipped around them. It was suddenly beautiful and Arizona wanted to reach out and touch it. She knew it would feel warm and soft. And she wanted to be closer to Callie, to breathe in her scent, to revel in her presence.

Phew! Calm down, Z! She fanned herself with her program and tried to calm her hormones. Clearly, it had been a long time since she had felt this affected by someone.

They meandered their way through the exhibits, pausing to look at some sculptures made with chicken wire and draped with printed fabrics. On occasion, both women found themselves sneaking glances at the other. Arizona's hand searched for Callie's, and sent a pleased smile the brunette's way when their hands found their way to each other's. Their hands fit together perfectly; Callie's hand soft and warm. Arizona hoped Callie was looking forward to their after-art coffee as much as she was. She tried to turn her attention back to the exhibits.

"I like the colours," Arizona mused, "the dark reds and ochres are really striking." She walked around a sculpture, looking at it from different angles.

Callie agreed. "I like how she's tempered the hard elements like the concrete with the soft silks." She lowered her voice. "Sometimes these things can be real hits or misses. I don't understand art most of the time. I mean, I can appreciate a pretty painting or sculpture, but some of these experimental, post-modern stuff are really bizarre."

Arizona nodded. "I know what you mean. It's like you find yourself trying too hard to understand what the artist had in his or her head when creating that piece. To me, art should be something everyone can easily enjoy. I've got some experimental stuff hanging in my apartment though," she said Callie, who looked at her in surprise. Arizona nodded, trying not to giggle. "Finger paint on newsprint. By my niece, Olivia. She's two."

Callie threw back her head and laughed a good, old belly laugh. Arizona loved that she could make Callie laugh so hard. Recovering, Callie said, in between giggles, "Sounds intriguing. I'll have to see it sometime."

"Come over anytime. I have a small collection." Arizona leaned in and looked up at her. "It's a date then." Arizona felt the moment they'd had earlier slowly building again. She wished they had chosen a less public place for their date. She grasped Callie's hands in hers. "Let's go see the last few exhibits and then maybe we should go have coffee somewhere quiet," Callie murmured.

Arizona nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"Let me just pop by the washroom. I'll meet you by those canvases over there." Callie squeezed Arizona's hand as she slipped away.

Left alone, Arizona slowly made her way to the last few displays. This artist worked with photographs and mixed media elements. The first couple of canvases were black and white photos of nude models in very angular poses which left a lot of negative space. The negative space was filled with trash and found items. Things like soda cans and gum wrappers and potato chip bags were glued to the photos, and some bore slash marks. Arizona tried not to be judgemental, but all the canvases left her feeling disturbed and unsettled. She wished Callie would hurry back and then they could leave.

The last canvas was disturbing. The image itself was blurry, but Arizona could make out a woman's form on a bed with limbs and sheets entwined. She wasn't asleep, but rather seemed like she was in the early stages of waking up. You couldn't see her face though; most of it was obscured by her long, dark hair. The image would have been serene, if not for the fact that it was slashed in places, the knife blade forming jagged ridges. There was red paint splashed on the canvas too, almost like the artist was in a rage. Caution tape was glued to the canvas haphazardly. Arizona's hair on her arms stood on end as she tried to imagine the amount of anger and hatred the artist must have expended when producing this piece. It was disturbing.

"What do you think of these?" A blonde woman standing nearby addressed her and gestured to the canvas with her chin. Her arms were folded across her chest as she regarded the canvases in front of them. Arizona stared at her. This woman, whose wavy blonde hair tumbled down her back in a mass of haphazard curls, wore a pair of faded blue jeans tucked into black leather booties and a navy, V-necked blouse. Her eyes were blue like Arizona's own, though not as bright, and her face carried a hint of a condescending sneer. She would be pretty if she smiled. "This one, especially," she said, pointing to the last canvas Arizona looked at, after Arizona didn't respond after a few seconds had lapsed.

Arizona tried to respond without being condescending. Truth be told, she hated them. "Well, they're certainly unusual. Interesting."

"Interesting." The other woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "The dullest and most non-committal answer ever. Come on, what do you really think? And don't give me that 'I'm not an art critic' bullshit."

"Um, I…well… I feel like we're intruding on a couple's private moment here. But the use of…"

The woman let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes as she cut Arizona off. "So typical. You're obviously not schooled in art. You fail to see all the subtlety to it. I don't know why I bother showing my art to the uneducated. Always with this narrow worldview." She gave Arizona a sour look. "These shows are always such a let down." She sighed again.

"Anyway, I just thought I should warn you."

Arizona gasped, her mouth fell open. "Excuse me?" The audacity of this woman!

"About Callie. I saw the two of you together. And you looked pretty cozy. I thought I should warn you that she's not who she seems to be. She's vindictive and untrustworthy. Be careful of what you say to her. She'll twist your words and use them against you."

Arizona felt her rage bubbling through to the surface. She clenched her fists. "That doesn't sound like the Callie I know. Who the hell are you to talk about her like that anyway?" she demanded of the blonde woman, her tone of voice barely controlled. Arizona was the daughter of a Marine; she protected the things she loved. And in the last few days she'd started to think of Callie as someone she might like to wake up to every morning for the rest of her life.

"I'm serious. She's not someone you ought to get tangled with…" The stranger continued.

"Sorry Arizona there was a que…" Callie's voice trailed off as she approached Arizona and noticed the other blonde Arizona looked like she was ready to punch.

A/N: Yikes! Did anyone see that coming? Who do you reckon it is? Can't our girls ever get a break? (Not long now…)


	9. Chapter 9

"Erica."

Arizona heard the strain in Callie's voice as she whipped around to see the brunette standing behind her, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hello Callie." Erica's face twisted into a cruel sneer. "I didn't know you were still on campus. Still hanging on to the past I see. I was just warning your new girlfriend about you. How you'll turn on her and hurt her."

The atmosphere had gone from uncomfortable to agonisingly painful in seconds. Arizona turned to face Callie anxiously; the latter forced an extremely pinched and anxious smile for her. It was so unlike the glowing smiles that Arizona had become used to seeing on Callie that it was practically alien. It physically pained Arizona to see Callie like this.

Callie seemed completely lost for words for a few moments. "Well, if you're here it must mean that you're doing better. Good for you," she said to the other blonde in a strained voice. She turned to look at the canvas. Her face drained of colour as she recognised the image on the canvas. Her fists clenched at her side.

Noticing Callie's expression, Arizona turned to the canvas again and gave it a hard stare, realisation dawning on her. Wait. It… it couldn't be, could it?

"This-"Callie indicated the canvas. "This is really messed up, Erica. It's sick. You're sick." Callie closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She seemed about to say something, but after a few seconds she opened her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I need some fresh air." She turned on her heels and walked away.

The whole time, Arizona observed the entire exchange. She took one last glance at the canvas, the image which she now knew with absolute certainty was Callie. She turned to the other woman called Erica, and narrowed her eyes. "You know, your art isn't that bad – just not to my taste – but what you just did was really ugly. You need to stay away from Callie."

Arizona hurried after Callie, stopping to pick up their coats and went outside through the door they'd come in earlier. She found Callie hunched over the steps with her arms hugging herself.

Callie heard someone approach, and she instinctively knew it was Arizona and not Erica who had come after her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Callie turned to look at Arizona, shame on her face. It was evident that Callie was trying very hard to keep her tears at bay.

"These things happen. Something you run into a nasty ex who brings up things that probably should be kept private. Sometimes your library floods and you have to cancel a first date with a gorgeous woman. These things happen." Arizona's voice was calm soothing as she tried to let Callie know that that she wasn't going to push Callie for answers now; the incident wasn't going to put her off from getting to know her better, or wanting to pursue a relationship with her. As much as she wanted to reach out and put a protective arm around Callie, she wasn't sure if it was what Callie needed right now. The night had been going so well, and for it to suddenly take such a nasty turn like this felt so wrong. Arizona wanted to fix things if she could. Arizona wanted to comfort Callie. She wanted to protect her. She decided to risk it.

Callie tensed when she felt Arizona's hand on her shoulder. "I need to get out of here."

"Okay. Let's take a walk. The temperature hasn't dropped too much. It'll be refreshing."

Callie squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm really sorry Arizona. I… I just really need to go home. I can't… I'm sorry…" The brunette looked on the verge of tears. She shook her head.

Arizona felt her stomach churn. This was somewhat frightening and it made her realise just how little she knew about Callie. It was a sobering and unwanted realisation after the chemistry she had felt earlier that night. "O-okay. Do you want me to walk you to your car?"

Callie shook her head. "I'm really sorry. I was really enjoying our date until… well, until THAT. I just need to go." Callie turned and walked away.

Arizona stared dumbfounded as she watched Callie walk away. She didn't even know what to say. She'd been on too many blind dates set up by well-meaning friends who thought they knew what Arizona wanted in a date. She'd been stood up on dates before. She'd had a date who insisted they get matching tattoos after only four dates. She'd even dated this one girl who came at her with a steak knife after Arizona told her that they should stop seeing each other. But this was the worst feeling she'd had in a long time.

She finally realised that she was left standing there holding Callie's jacket. She ran her fingers over the raised pattern on one shoulder. It smelled like Callie. She didn't know what to do, and she certainly didn't know what to make of the encounter with Erica. Was she Callie's ex?

Arizona walked home alone. She put on her favourite hoodie and tried to console herself with a pint of ice cream and a marathon of America Bake-off. She didn't even feel like eating anything. But every time she closed her eyes, she could still see Callie's expression, right before she turned to leave, walking out on their date. What had been their first date. Their ruined first date. The pain reflected in those soft chocolate eyes spoke volumes.

When the phone ringing next to her ear jolted her awake to bright sunshine, she realised that she'd fallen asleep on the sofa. She fumbled with the handset and picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Arizona? It's James. We had you on the schedule for 10 a.m. today; I got a little concerned when you didn't come in. Is everything okay?"

Oh, shit. She looked at the clock. Friday morning, 10:35 a.m… she had forgotten to set an alarm and now she'd overslept and was late for work. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I overslept. I am really sorry, James. I'll be right in!" Arizona looked down at her sweatshirt and screwed her face in disgust as she realised that her ice cream spoon was fused to the front of it.

"Tell you what. Why don't you take your time and come in at noon? If you need to make up the hours we can figure out some time next week for it. Also, I haven't forgotten you worked late the other day when the library flooded."

Arizona paused. Everything was decidedly not okay. Her love life had taken a nosedive just when it had finally been looking so good. She'd eaten so much ice cream that she felt sick now, she'd overslept her work shift, and she was about to cry in front of her boss. She took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I just...I feel really bad about oversleeping. I'll be in by noon, and I just want to apologise for how unprofessional this was of me."

"Don't think another moment on it. You've never been late before, and I'm sure you won't let it happen again. It's been pretty quiet here this morning."

Arizona felt tears prickling. "Thank you. I'll be there by noon." She hung up the phone.

She peeled the spoon off her hoodie and rinsed it in the sink. The dried on chocolate was probably going to stain the fabric. She sighed again; stripping off the hoodie and throwing it onto the top of her laundry pile and headed for the shower.

Arizona felt a little nauseated after her shower, probably because of the hot water on top the ice cream hangover – if there was ever such a thing. She dressed plainly, pulled her hair back into a messy knot, and went to work. The day passed in a blur of forgotten moments that receded back into a general fog as soon as they were finished. James let her go early and even asked if she was feeling well. He told her to get some rest and feel better on Monday. When she looked up at the cafe she couldn't see who was working. She decided to give Callie some space; hefted the strap of her backpack, hunched her shoulders and headed back home.

Arizona called Tim when she got home. "T-man, I think I'm going to be single forever. I'm gonna die alone and unloved. You're going to have to take in the hundreds of chickens I'm going to have as well as their future babies because I'm just going to buy myself a ton of them to keep me company. I'm going to die alone. And unloved. And no, you're not allowed to eat them."

"Wow, so I take it the date was a total bomb."

She whined in response. She laid down face-first on her bed, pressing her face into the blankets.

"Aww, man. What happened Z?"

Arizona lifted her head. "Everything was going so well. We went for a walk together, she brought me chocolate—"

"Ooh, what kind?"

"Caramel and sea salt. Tim! Focus, please! I'm dying alone, here. Alone and unloved."

"Sorry, I haven't eaten yet, so when you mentioned food… y'know. The twins were on a rampage all afternoon. Seriously they don't call them the Terrible Twos for nothing. Finally managed to get them down for a nap. Sarah's exhausted so I told her to take a nap too. I'm gonna fix myself a sandwich, but go on, I'm listening."

Arizona sighed. "We went to this student art show and it was nice. But then we ran into this woman whom I think is her ex, who is probably insane, and things just...blew up in our faces. And I came home and binged on ice cream and fell asleep on my couch and overslept and ended up being late for work."

Tim inhaled sharply. "Ooh, running into your date's ex on a first date "that's bad luck. But still, I mean it's not like you thought she'd never dated anyone before." He paused. Arizona could hear him chewing. "Did you? I mean I'm all for pure-as-the-driven-snow love, but I don't really think it's realistic in this modern age—"

"Of course not. It's not that at all. It's just that...well, I really think her ex might have been legitimately crazy. She was one of the artists participating in the exhibit and she'd put up this nude of Callie. I mean, at first glance I couldn't tell that it was Callie because duh I haven't seen her naked and her hair was covering her face but still it was really creepy. Like, the kind of creepy that you'd be worried that the woman was going to flip out and start biting people and screaming about lizard men in the government at any moment. Only that kind of sounds like it would be funny and this Erica woman wasn't funny at all. She really made me uncomfortable. She warned me about how Callie was this horrible person and how she'd stab me in the back."

"Oh, wow, okay…that's awkward. What did Callie say?"

Arizona sighed. "She kind of freaked out and said she needed to leave."

"Yikes. Oh, Z, I'm so sorry. I know you were really excited about this date. So, do we hate Callie forever and curse her name?"

"No...well...I don't think so. I mean...it was this incredibly bizarre situation. I mean, I don't know what I would have done if my ex showed up with terrifying intimate pictures of me all slashed to pieces with trash glued onto them."

"She seriously did that? Man, I think I would have freaked out, too. That sounds like crazy stalker ex. Yikes."

Tim continued his chewing. "So... are you going to see Callie again?"

"I dunno. I mean, I'd like to. I really felt like we had something. I'm just so drawn to her. I want to know everything about her. But what if she doesn't feel the same way? I mean...I don't even know what I mean." Arizona sighed again. "It just sucks. Every time I try to see her, something bad happens. It's like we're cursed. Maybe it's just a sign. Maybe I'm not destined to be with anyone."

Tim snorted. "Oh, please, since when do you believe in 'signs'? Come on Z, pull yourself together. Put on your big girl panties and suck it up."

"I don't know what to do, Tim."

"Well, dear sister, you just have to decide one thing. Are you desperate enough to let me set you up on another blind date?"

"Dear God, no." Arizona sat up. "Your blind dates are the worst. I don't know where you find those people. But that said, I AM thirty-five…" She sighed.

"The investment banker lady was nice," Tim said defensively.

"She talked about her parasitic twin all night! It was totally freaky."

"Okay, fine. But the transcriptionist was-"

"Married. To a mobster. Who showed up halfway through dinner. And knew where she was because he'd tapped her phone. He threatened me with bodily harm!" she countered.

"Oh yeah...I forgot that." Tim guffawed. "I don't know how many times you want me to apologise for that. She was recommended by one of the guys at work. You know that wasn't my fault!"

"I'm so glad you think it was funny. I had to spend two hours talking to the police because of that."

"Okay, so, it's obvious then. You should call Callie."

Arizona hunched over again, picking at the imaginary lint on her socks, cradling the phone on her shoulder while she pondered the shambles of her relationship with Callie which ended even before it had even begun.

Tim listened to the silence for a while. "Hello, earth to Z Robbins. Come in, Z. Are you still there? Are you still alive? Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you. I just don't know what I should do. I just...want something simple and nice. It felt so nice to think that someone found me attractive for a little while. And then it went all wrong."

"I know." Her brother's voice was softer. "That sucks, a lot. But from how you were talking about her, it sounds like you should give her another try. What have you got to lose? If you don't talk to her you won't know if she feels the same way about you, and well, so what if she's got a messy past? Yours isn't the most stellar either. And if you can work through your issues it will be worth it."

Arizona laughed once. "You make a good point."

"Hey, and it can't be worse than one of my blind dates, right? Oh yeah. There's this lady butcher that I know and she always slips me some extra sausage. You think she's hitting on me?" Tim paused and pondered.

Arizona snorted. "You made that up, didn't you? Please, God, tell me you made that up."

Tim laughed again. "Okay, the sausage thing is made up."

Arizona could hear fussing in the background. "Is that Liam?"

"Yeah, he's up from his nap, though he really shouldn't be."

"I should probably let you go." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Arizona nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay. Well...call Callie. Love you, sis. It'll be okay."

"Thanks, T-man. You're a good brother."

"Don't you forget it!"

Arizona hung up the phone. She lay on her bed and laced her fingers behind her head.

It was Friday night and she was spending it alone. She sighed. Again. She picked up her phone and opened her contacts. Maybe she should call Callie. Maybe Callie was just afraid that after that mess of a date, Arizona wouldn't want to hear from her. But she did. She did want to hear from her. All Arizona could think about was Callie; how much she'd enjoyed those smoothies, the stolen moments in the cafe, that amazing tea. How Callie's expressive brown eyes sparkled with mischief and how her smile lit up the room.

Arizona dialled the phone. It rang. And rang. And rang. And she was just about to hang up when the rings stopped.

"Hi." Callie's voice was almost a whisper. Arizona's heart ached, for she could hear how broken the brunette sounded.

Arizona sat up on her bed. "Hi Callie." Now what was she going to say? "I wanted to call you," she offered.

There was a pause. "I wasn't sure you'd want to hear from me again after the way I freaked out on you like that," came the reply.

Arizona frowned. "I was kind of worried about you. But mostly I...just want to see you again. I don't know how I would have reacted if that had happened to me."

"You don't hate me forever now? Like I'm some sort of freak?" Callie's voice was uncharacteristically timid.

"Only if you refuse to see me ever again, then I might have to hate you forever. Or at least be really hurt and start secretly questioning what was wrong with myself."

"Oh, God, don't do that. I'm the one with something wrong. Not you. You're... amazing, Arizona. I really like talking to you and walking with you and drinking tea with you—"

Arizona cut her off. "Okay, so can we give this another go? Callie, I really want us to give this another go."

Callie's voice came over the phone much stronger than before. "God, yes, Arizona, yes! Let's go. No flooded libraries, no crazy exes, no one but us."

Arizona felt relief rush through her at hearing Callie's voice saying such wonderful things.

But Callie wasn't done. "But what if I'm really the crazy ex? I mean, what if Erica was really right about me? I don't want to hurt you."

Arizona's heart ached again. "Well, you can be crazy today. Tomorrow, I'll be the crazy one. Okay?" Her voice was soft, tender even, as she coaxed Callie back from the brink. "Meet me tomorrow at that nature preserve down by the marketplace? We can go for a walk and talk."

"Okay. What time?"

"Is ten in the morning okay?" Was that too soon? Arizona held her breath.

"Okay." There was another pause. "Thanks, Arizona. I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey hey... longest chapter so far! Thanks to everyone who continues to read and review, especially those of you whose fics I've been reading for the longest time :D Well done everyone who guessed Erica... and to the Guest who asked if Callie and Erica were ever together, the answer is yes! Erica paved the way for Calzona on the show, though in my opinion it was totally awks while it lasted. I initially wanted to make it Izzie instead of Erica, and have Arizona find out Callie is bi, but as you can see, I changed my mind. Hope you like!**


	10. Chapter 10

Arizona woke up early, way too early. She had too much time to kill. She cleaned out her fridge and pantry, rearranged her closet, vacuumed the entire apartment, had a shower, and still had to stop herself from driving out to the preserve at nine a.m.

She arrived at nine forty-five, fifteen minutes early. And Callie was already there waiting. She was wearing stonewashed jeans, a grey sweatshirt and a tatty, denim baseball cap. Arizona got out of her car.

"I brought cider." Callie held out a steaming to-go cup.

Arizona's steps felt lighter. "I brought your jacket." She held out the black leather jacket to Callie.

The expression on Callie's face was one of delight. "Thank you so much! It's my favourite." Callie set the ciders down on a bench and then peeled off the sweatshirt. When she pulled it over her head Arizona caught a glimpse of a toned midriff as her T-shirt rode up. It was a very nice sight. Arizona bit her lip and tried not to stare. She passed the Latina her jacket and Callie put it back on, pulling the zipper halfway up. Rolling up the sweatshirt and tucking it under her arm, Callie picked up the ciders again and gave Arizona one.

The morning air was nippy; as they walked down the boardwalk paths, fallen leaves crunched underneath their feet and made a swooshing sound as they moved through them. The preserve was a marshy area full of cattails, rushes, and tall grasses. In the summer the area was filled with water birds, but now a lot of them had started migrating south.

They walked in silence for some time, sipping the hot cider. It filled Arizona's senses with the scent of cinnamon and mulling spices, warming her body as it travelled down her throat. It was the perfect drink for the morning.

After about twenty minutes Callie finally broke the silence. "Arizona, listen. I'm really, really sorry. I had no idea she would be there. I would never have suggested going if I'd known."

"It's okay." Arizona wondered if she should ask Callie if she wanted to talk about it. Would that be too prying? She felt like it might be. But it was the metaphorical elephant in the room that needed to be addressed at some point, if they wanted to take their relationship forward. "If you want to talk about it, we can. Or, if you'd like to leave it for a later time, I'd be okay with that too."

Callie turned to look at the blonde, her expressive deep brown eyes beginning to water. "I'm sorry it ruined our date."

Arizona shook her head emphatically. "I'm not considering it ruined, maybe just... rudely interrupted. If a library flood can't ruin our sort-of first date, then this doesn't count as ruining the sort-of second. It's only ruined if we decide it is. And I'm deciding that it isn't. Not yet." Arizona nodded emphatically as though she could make it be so just by saying it.

Callie's expression softened. She got quiet again and they walked a ways together in more comfortable silence. As much as Arizona wanted to reach out and hold her hand, she restrained herself.

"So...I dated this artist girl in college." Callie started. She seemed unsure about how to talk about this.

"Erica."

"Yeah. Erica. She was this intense person, so she didn't seem to mind that I was kind of intense at the time too… all dark and broody. We were terrible for each other. She was obsessive about her art and I was...a little obsessive about her. You know, my stupid 'must immediately find soul mate' thing." Callie sighed. "I used to spend hours and hours with her in the art studio where she'd churn out page after page of sketches. Only to see her tear them up in a rage and throw them all away when she deemed them not good enough. Looking back on it, she was kind of scary, only I couldn't see it. Or didn't want to. Maybe some of both." Callie glanced over at Arizona to gauge how she felt.

"I dated enough crazy exes in my day too. Remind me to tell you about Essie, the mobster's wife sometime," Arizona said, trying to be encouraging.

"You're kidding?" Callie's tone was incredulous.

"I only wish I was." Arizona grimaced and shook her head. "Anyway. Erica."

Callie smiled a little. "Anyway, Erica. Long story short, she just got more and more...obsessive. My friends tried to warn me. Finally even I couldn't ignore it any more. I started to get worried about the things she would say. So I...went through her things. And I found some of her journals, which were filled with her scribbles." Callie looked down. "That's why she was saying all that stuff about me betraying her. I did break her trust, but I did it because she was scaring me. And then the things she was writing were really scary. She was writing about hurting herself, hurting me, doing crazy things like blowing up classrooms and making 'them' all pay."

Arizona felt herself shiver. That was one of the more frightening things she'd had to think about when coming back to school. The university had an alert system expressly for that reason. It had made her nervous as she signed up for the notifications, but she'd made sure to put her cell phone in the system.

"I brought the journal to one of her professors. He notified the health centre and she got called in. And I don't know how she found out it was me, probably because no one else had the access that I did. Long and ugly story short, we had an argument in the car park… She went on about how you had to 'suffer for your art to have meaning' and that her feelings and writings were completely normal for a real artist. She was screaming and crying. The next day, she was gone. It was like she suddenly disappeared. I don't know the details, but I think she had to withdraw for medical reasons. Her artist friends hated me for 'turning her in'. They made my life a living hell for a really long time." Callie's words came out in a rush, and when she stopped, she breathed out, a long sigh. "I couldn't even go to the art building for years, until they all graduated. And I used to love being there so much."

"You did the right thing, Callie. Sounds like she really needed help." They'd stopped walking by now, and Arizona turned to face Callie, fisting the lapels of her leather jacket. "You might have saved her life. She's lucky that she had someone who recognised how alarming that stuff was. She can't see it, but you did the right thing." Arizona's tone was kind, empathetic.

"I know, I tell myself that. She definitely needed help." Callie shook her head. "I just didn't know what to think when I saw that… that piece of 'art'. That picture of me. And what she did to it. I could feel her rage."

"It felt...really personal to me."

Callie nodded uncomfortably. "She used to wake me up with a camera in my face. It used to piss me off at first, and then it started to make me feel really creeped out. It gives me the shivers thinking about her having all those pictures, and then using them in her art like that. I actually don't know what other pictures of me she had or if she still has them." Callie rubbed her arms and rolled her shoulders, like she was trying to shrug off the feelings. "I think it weirds me out even more that some art professor is...letting her do that as art, maybe even encouraging her."

Callie stopped. "I'm sorry. Here I am on a date with a gorgeous, gorgeous woman," Callie emphasised the second gorgeous, "and I'm going on and on about my crazy ex. I think that's the biggest 'don't' in the dating textbook."

Arizona's mouth fell open. "You think I'm gorgeous?" She looked up at Callie shyly, her head cocked to one side.

Callie closed her eyes and chuckled. "I'm so glad that your takeaway from that awkward mess was that line." She twisted her cider cup in its paper sleeve. "And yes. For the record, I do. I think you're gorgeous."

"I'm all about the power of positive hearing. Or something like that. And, for the record also, I think you're breathtakingly stunning." Arizona grinned as Callie's face-splitting smile made its appearance. "Besides, we're lesbians, aren't we all supposed to have a list of crazy exes as long as our arms? I bet that was in the text book on the chapter about 'personal histories and how not to be a "judgmental jerk about your girlfriend's'."

"Someone really should write that book."

"I think I've read a few." Arizona admitted, rubbing the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.

"I'm just really sorry, Arizona. This whole mess is just awful, I didn't mean to put you in the middle of such an uncomfortable situation." The Latina's tone was regretful.

"I know. I trust you. And it was probably worse for you than it was for me." Arizona finally decided to reach out for Callie's hands, as if to physically show her that she wasn't going anywhere.

"That might be true." The brunette leaned in towards her blonde companion. "I'm sorry it happened. All of it."

Callie nodded. "Thanks. I just feel so...I don't know, stupid."

"Hey! Stop that. You're not stupid. She took advantage of you. She captured private moments on film and put them on public display. It's not your fault."

Callie's eyes were misty. She nodded. "So, I can understand if you'd rather not see me. I guess I've got more history than most. No hard feelings if you want to just walk away."

"Callie…" Arizona stopped short. She'd wanted to say Callie's full name, but realised that she didn't even know it. "What's your surname?" she demanded.

"What?" Callie was puzzled. "Er… Torres."

"Right. Callie Torres. I have this strange feeling that Callie's short for something, but that's a story for later. Anyways. Callie Torres. I am not about to just walk away from you. I mean, I can't predict the future so who knows what's going to happen years from now, but I like you. And I know you like me. So, I like you, and you like me, and none of the rest of it matters. I mean, heck, you said I was gorgeous. You have no idea how long it's been since anyone said that. So I think you're definitely worth it. God know, I've got some history too. But I want go out with you. I want to get to know you. Heck, I've been worried ever since I met you that you were way out of my league. So... unless you're dumping me, you're stuck with me for at least a little while, Callie Torres."

Callie brushed tears from her eyes and cheeks. "Well, all right. Let's give this a try." She gestured between them with her hands as a gorgeous smile broke out on her face again, like the sun splitting the clouds on a cloudy day.

Arizona's dimpled popped as she smiled and leaned in towards Callie again, put her arms around her, and pulled her close. "I'm going to kiss you now, Callie Torres."

"But we haven't even finished our first date yet!" Callie played.

Oh, hush! I think we deserve to speed things up a bit in order to make up for it, was Arizona's reply as she stood on tiptoes to reach up and touch her lips to Callie's. And when their lips finally did meet, the world beyond them ceased to exist, and nothing else mattered. Callie's strong, caramel hands tangled in long blonde tresses, pulling Arizona flush against her. Both women revelled in the kiss, losing themselves in the moment; the kiss saying so much more than words ever could… trust and the promise to try being the primary sentiments.

And, just as their lips parted, Arizona's stomach gurgled. Breakfast, since she'd gotten up so early, had been too long ago. "Excuse me!" A blush spread across her milky complexion. The blonde was mortified.

Callie tried to hide a smile, and then she started to laugh. Loud, belly laughs, which eventually prompted Arizona to begin giggling. Soon, both were laughing out loud together, a comical sight as they held on to each other in the middle of the footpath. "I'm sorry," Callie managed to choke out in between laughs. "I'm sorry! You're adorable. And gorgeous. Gorgeously adorable," as she got her laughter under control. "I think I owe you a bite to eat, if I recall correctly. Can I take you for the rainchecked dinner part of our date? Or lunch, maybe?"

"That would be really great." Arizona's cheeks were even more flushed now from the bout of laughter, the sparkle in her eyes dancing merrily in the mid-morning sun.

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Something hot. The cider was really good but as you heard, my stomach demands hot food now."

Callie looked thoughtful for a few moments. "How about that little soup place right next to the hair salon?"

"I've never been there. Soup sounds great right about now." Arizona rubbed her upper arms and pulled her jacket closer. "Well, it's my treat. After I just made you listen to my dramatic sob story, the least I can do is buy you lunch." Callie smiled shyly. Arizona smiled back, her dimples on full display. That was the expression that had melted her heart over the cafe counter while purchasing one of the many Strawberry Sensations with chia seed booster. It was wonderful to see it on Callie's face again.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry about the earlier new chapter upload notification. After I clicked 'upload' somehow tons of mumbo jumbo text appeared. Anyways, I'm thinking there are about two more chapters to go before the end of this story... thank you again for the reviews and kind words! I might take another crack at a different fic after this one :)**


	11. Chapter 11

The soup was delicious. Arizona had a bowl of corn chowder and Callie chose a hearty beef stew. They shared toasted slices of raisin bread. For Arizona, who had eaten so early, the soup was wonderful and hit the spot just right. She reached across the table and wound her fingers through Callie's, who squeezed her hand. Both women enjoyed their lunches quietly, content with just being in each other's presence. It was surprisingly comfortable, and comforting. When they'd finished eating they cleared away their bowls together.

"This was really nice." Arizona felt relaxed and warm and well fed, and just simply contented. "So, Callie Torres. What's Callie short for?"

Callie made a face. "I was hoping you'd forget. It's really horrible," she started. "Callie really is short for Calliope. I was named after my great grandmother."

Arizona tried saying it a few times. "Calliope. I like it," she declared.

"Nobody calls me Calliope, except for my parents." Callie cringed again. "It's especially horrible when you're in trouble."

Arizona laughed, her dimples making an appearance. "Well, tough luck Calliope. I like it, and you're stuck with me using it," Arizona retorted with a smug look on her face.

Callie couldn't take the adorableness of the whole situation. She laughed. "Whatever," she said with a huff, rolling her eyes. Deep down inside she liked the way her name rolled off Arizona's tongue. And, Callie allowed her mind to wander as she wondered about Arizona's tongue, like what else Arizona could do with her tongue… wait! Stop it, Calliope! She mentally shook off the picture, promising herself to revisit it later.

"So, since we're on the subject of names… Arizona like the state, or the ship?"

"I'm surprised you even have to ask, Calliope," Arizona tsked. "I'm badass! So Arizona, after the battleship, of course!" The blonde looked so indignant Callie had to laugh.

"Okay, okay… I'm sorry, Arizona like the battleship!"

"On a more serious note though… I was named after the battleship, in honour of my granddad. He served on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbour when it was bombed – he save nineteen men before he drowned."

"Oh wow." Callie was impressed.

"Yeah, and so every Robbins male after that has enrolled in the marines in honour of granddad. My big brother Tim was only just recently given an honourable discharge after taking two bullets in Syria. And all Robbins children? Well, we're brought up to be good men in a storm. We don't back down. We don't let adversity deter us." Arizona tilted her head to look at Callie, a determined look on her face, as if to send Callie an unspoken message that she wasn't going to let the nasty Erica business put her off.

Both women sat in the booth for some time chatting, comfortable in each other's company, their fingers touching over the table. The awkwardness of this morning was gone. It was nice. Too soon, Callie had to take her leave in order to make it to the café on time to start her shift. Arizona wiped her mouth with a napkin while Callie called for the check.

They stood just inside the door of the café with their hands intertwined, both not ready to part ways. Arizona turned to Callie. "Tell you what. You know how sometimes a professor will let you drop one quiz grade, so if you do really badly on one, you can get rid of it and it won't drag your overall results down?"

Callie nodded slowly as she caught on. "So we can drop that one bad date and pretend it never happened?"

Arizona grinned as she bounced on her feet. "Yeah! Exactly."

"I think that would be great."

"We only have to save one thing."

Callie cocked a perfectly-plucked eyebrow. "What's that?"

"My offer to bring you to see that young artist's work in my kitchen. You still have to come and see that." Arizona smiled cheekily.

Callie laughed. How could a grown woman be so adorable? "It's a deal. When does this gallery open?"

"Tomorrow night at six p.m. The dress code is casual."

"I'll be there." Callie held up Arizona's jacket to help her into it, who found the gesture incredibly sweet and chivalrous; she couldn't remember the last time someone had done something like that for her. She put her arms into the jacket and was pleasantly surprised to find Callie's arms around her. She leaned back into Callie's strong arms and put her hands over hers, holding them just over her heart.

"Thanks for giving me another chance," Callie murmured softly into Arizona's hair, the scent of the blonde's shampoo invading her nose.

"Thank you for saying yes and giving US a chance." Arizona leaned closer and their cheeks touched. Callie felt soft and warm and still smelled like cider and cinnamon. Arizona turned around, putting Callie's arms back around her, settling them in the small of her back. It felt nice. "We'll take turns to be the crazy one in this relationship. Next time, I'll be the crazy one."

The wind picked up and leaves from the sidewalk suddenly swirled around them; one got stuck in Arizona's hair. They started to laugh again. Callie reached out and plucked the errant red leaf out. "I think it's a good colour on you." She held it up near Arizona's cheek as if for comparison."

Arizona leaned her cheek towards the leaf in Callie's hand. "If you think so, I might just have to expand my wardrobe colours," she said teasingly. "Maybe I'll even invite you to come shopping with me." She accepted the leaf from Callie and twirled it between forefinger and thumb. She was reluctant to end their time together, although she knew she had a lot of things to do before tomorrow night. Suddenly she had plans! It was intoxicating. She'd stopped making plans a long time ago, resolving never to put her heart on the line ever again for someone whom she couldn't be a hundred percent sure would do the same for her in return. Arizona really, really hoped Callie was this someone.

Callie traced her fingertips over Arizona's cheek. Arizona really wanted to kiss Callie again so badly.

She reached out for Callie's jacket lapels to pull her close. "I'm going to kiss you again, Calliope."

And their lips met again in a heated kiss that led to tongues doing a sensual tango which made both women breathless, their hearts beating a spirited tattoo in their chests.

"Until tomorrow at six, then," Arizona said, smiling into the kiss as she broke away.

Callie caught her breath. She placed her fingers on her lips as though to seal in and preserve the kiss. "I'll be there. I promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I know some of you asked for more crazy ex Erica... I'm thinking about it! However, if not in the last few chapters, I'm contemplating another fic which will present more opportunities for crazy exes to make appearances, so don't be disheartened! Also, I've recently begun reading this fic called _Going for Gold..._** **so good! If you haven't read it yet, go now! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Arizona went a little bit crazy cleaning house all afternoon. She wanted to be sure that everything was in the perfect place for Callie's first visit. She even cleaned under her fridge. She'd never done that before. She adjusted the magnets holding up Olivia's finger paintings so that she could actually have the 'gallery showing.'

Before Callie arrived, Arizona had plenty to do. She picked a small menu of hors d'oeuvres and a few bottles of wine — the student gallery might be restricted to cider, but at the Robbins' Gallery, she was going to have the good stuff. She picked up both red and white wine; while she generally preferred white, she wasn't sure what Callie liked. Better safe than sorry.

Then, Arizona was free to complete her secret project. Well, not so much a project; she just needed to gift wrap a present she'd picked up for Callie.

A few days after she and Callie had had their not-coffee-but-tea date at the café, Arizona had been walking home from her shift at the library when she noticed a window display of one of the shops nearby her apartment. She'd never noticed the shop before, but on that afternoon she'd stopped and stared at the variety of kitschy, theatre-related souvenirs the store had on display. A plain white mug with some words on it caught her eye. In that snap moment, Arizona had decided to go in and buy it, intending to present it to Callie when the opportunity arose. She felt that that opportunity would be today.

As they were enjoying their chat over steaming cups of Indian masala chai weeks earlier, Arizona had taken note of the wistful tone in Callie's voice as she spoke of how she once dreamt of performing on Broadway. Instead, there she was, serving drinks in a college café. The economy had improved in recent years, and the performing arts scene was thriving once again. Seeing life through rose-tinted glasses she may be, but even in the short time the blonde had come to get to know Callie, Arizona had no doubt that Callie was a hard worker, and would come to know success on the stage. She only needed to put herself out there and seek out opportunities. Arizona wanted to encourage her to reassess her situation and go after her dreams again.

Arizona rummaged around her apartment for a suitable box to put the mug in, finally deciding on a none-too-battered and relatively shoebox which she filled with tissue. Placing the mug inside carefully and wrapping it up, complete with a shiny bow, she leaned back into her couch and surveyed the results of her handiwork. Perfect, she declared. Arizona really, really hoped Callie would like it, and wouldn't feel that Arizona was overstepping her boundaries.

She took her time getting ready, putting on her favourite pair of jeans and an oversized tunic sweater. It was comfortable, she thought it looked cute, and it was red. Well, maybe not the exact red colour of the leaf—it was more like a burgundy colour—but still. Burgundy is a kind of red, is it not?

Arizona sort of expected Callie to arrive early; after all, they'd both confessed to being always too early. But she arrived right at six, exactly on time. She was carrying a small red box with a little silver bow on it "Hi, Arizona." Callie leaned in to give Arizona a peck on the cheek, a gesture which Arizona was secretly delighted about. Callie held out the box to her as she stepped through the doorway.

Callie looked stunning. She too was wearing an oversized knit sweater, except that while Arizona's was burgundy, Callie's was black. Black leggings, a black camisole, black knee-high boots and a pair of red lips completed her ensemble.

Arizona accepted the box. "Thank you—you shouldn't have." She took Callie's jacket and hung it on the coat rack by her door and let Callie into her apartment.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Arizona opened her fridge. "I have chardonnay, pinot noir, iced tea, or water."

"I would love a glass of whatever the house recommends."

Arizona grinned. "Well, the house really likes pinot, so let's start with that." Arizona poured them each a glass of wine and after setting hers on the counter, she pulled a cookie sheet out of her oven. "And we have mini quiches."

"Wow, I'm getting wined and dined!" Callie played. "I love a good mini quiche." Callie sipped her wine as she looked around small but well-organised kitchen. "Is this the famous work in question?" Callie gestured to the finger painting on the fridge.

"You have a good eye, Callie. It is. Olivia Marie Robbins. Finger-paint on newsprint. I believe they are limited edition works. Signed by the artist." Arizona indicated the little multi coloured handprints on the pictures. "She shows a lot of promise for someone so young."

Callie chuckled. "I think her use of colour and composition is bold and innovative. I particularly enjoy the way that she seems uninhibited by traditional ideas of space and intertextual gendered representations in art."

"Wow, that was such advanced art-speak that I don't know what you just said."

Callie threw back her head and laughed. Arizona was adorkable. Adorable. "Yeah well. I did hang around the artsy types a fair bit, back in my day." She made a face.

"I think..." Callie moved around the counter to the gift box that she'd brought, "that given the lovely wine you chose and the effort you made with the quiches, you should go ahead and open this little box."

"Right now?" Arizona looked down at the box.

"Yes, I definitely think so."

Arizona pulled on the end of the ribbon and watched as it fell away from the little red box. She lifted the lid to reveal four neat little rows of chocolate dipped strawberries. "Ooh." Arizona giggled with delight. "You really know how to impress a lady." Her mouth watered. "I always want these and I never get them for myself. It just always seems too indulgent of a thing to buy for myself." She put one in her mouth and the chocolate shell almost seemed to melt on her tongue. The berry was perfectly ripe. Heaven. Arizona pushed the box over to Callie. "Please, have some. I'll never be able to eat them all."

After they'd eaten their fill, Arizona led Callie over to the couch in her living room. They sat down together. That's when Callie noticed the shoebox on the coffee table. "What's in the box?"

Arizona smiled. "It's just a little something that I picked out for you." She looked away coyly. Callie raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to get anything for me." She reached over and picked it up.

Arizona scooted over closer to Callie and leaned against her. "Open it," she encouraged.

Callie smiled as she settled in next to Arizona. She pulled on the end of one of the strings and loosened the bow. It slid away and she lifted the lid. And Arizona watched Callie's face as she read the words on the mug. 'Theatre: life with all the boring bits cut out of it,' it said. Callie's mouth dropped open. Then she started to laugh as the words began to sink in. As her melodious laughter subsided, she turned to Arizona and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You bought me a gift." Callie's voice was barely a whisper.

"The way you talked about the stage and performing... it just sounded like you missed it so much. I still think you'd be great at it. You just need to put yourself out there and try again," Arizona explained quickly. And when Callie didn't speak but continued staring at the mug, Arizona thought she'd gone and stepped in it. Damn Z, you've overstepped. She frowned. "Calliope, I…" She stopped short when she saw tears in Callie's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

"You didn't. This is a really thoughtful gift, Arizona. And you're right… I HAVE been thinking about it. Making smoothies in a café for the rest of my life… that's not what I want for myself, you know? Even though making smoothies in a café was what brought us together." Callie dabbed at her eyes and leaned in towards Arizona. She took Arizona's hand, twining their fingers together and pulling her even closer. Their eyes met.

Arizona touched Callie's face with her free hand, brushing her fingers over a caramel cheek and wiping the tear streaks away. Callie flushed a little bit, closing her eyes and leaning against her blonde companion's hand in a way that was almost cat-like. Arizona moved closer, their foreheads nearly touching.

Callie's lips parted ever so slightly and she opened her eyes to look into clear blue eyes.

Arizona smiled.

Callie leaned forward to close the distance between their lips.

The kiss was just as good as their first kiss, maybe better. Arizona couldn't decide. Callie tasted like chocolate and pinot and the combination was sweet and tart at the same time. Her skin was warm and soft and Arizona wanted nothing more than to make the moment last forever. She pulled Callie to her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her down onto the couch beside her. They fell together, a mess of elbows and knees, into the cushions at the end of the couch. Callie broke the kiss to catch her breath. "I am so glad that I started giving you free smoothies!"

Arizona half-groaned, half-laughed. "Oh my God, I can't believe it took me so long to realise why you were."

Callie stroked Arizona's blonde tresses, resting her head on her elbow and breathing in the warm scent of Arizona, relishing their physical closeness and the feel of her body beneath hers. She leaned in and kissed Arizona's cheek.

Arizona turned her head and captured Callie's lips again. "I loved your smoothies Calliope, but I loved your Indian masala chai tea more." She snaked an arm around Callie's waist. "Because it was then that I mustered up enough courage to ask you out! Though it was probably the worst way anyone's asked someone else out on a date. I looked a mess."

Callie curled up against Arizona. "You weren't a mess; you were adorable. And still are." She laid a kiss on Arizona's nose for emphasis.

"And you'll definitely get more Indian masala chai tea. In fact," Callie declared, "I promise to make you all the Indian masala chai tea you want. I might even let you use my mug!" she played.

"You promise, huh?"

"I promise."

#####The End#####

 **A/N: And there you have it! Our girls have their kinda-happy ending... I know some of you wanted more Erica conflict, but this story was always meant to be a light, fluffy one. However, as I mentioned before I'm thinking of writing up another AU fic - hopefully longer and more drama-filled! Thank you for reading, and for the reviews and kind words!**


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